Coast Do it Best Hardware announced in late August that it will shrink its retail space and stay at the same address on 7th Avenue. The short list of what it is keeping matters more than the size of the cut. Key cutting, locksmithing, specialty fasteners, paint matching and in-person advice are the jobs a Poulsbo homeowner brings to the counter on a Tuesday afternoon. They take a few minutes, and someone on staff has to know what they're doing.
The owners say the smaller store depends on those quick visits, and they have said the store stays only as long as the community wants it.
The List the McCallums Chose to Keep
Kitsap Daily News reported the decision on August 25, 2026. The news release said the store would move to "a more compact, streamlined operation in the coming months." It cited "shifting economic pressures, rising operating costs, and changing retail landscapes."
The release says the store is keeping its "core, high-demand products and specialized services." It names them:
- Key cutting
- Locksmithing
- Specific hardware fasteners
- Paint matching
- Expert local advice
Each of these needs a machine, a trained hand or a conversation. They can't be handled as a box on a shelf. A paint match starts with a chip someone brings in. A lock repair starts with a description of the door. A fastener search often starts with a single bolt pulled from a deck railing or a boat cleat. In a 2026 profile, co-owner Nicole McCallum described this kind of help. "You tell us your problem and our custom service team, who has experience doing it, talks you through it," she said. "For many, it's a lot better than watching a You-Tube 'how to' video."
The same profile called the in-house locksmith a "full locksmith service" and described the fastener stock as "the largest fastener collection in Kitsap County." The profile went up within days of the downsizing news, and its account of the shelves likely reflects the store before the change.
A Store That Has Already Moved Once
The 7th Avenue location is itself a later chapter. Coast Hardware traces its Poulsbo history to 1906, when it first opened on Front Street.
Today the store sits in the Poulsbo Village shopping center. The Do it Best store listing gives the address as 19494 7th Ave NE #122.
The public record shows how ownership passed from one generation to the next:
- 1906. The store first opens on Front Street.
- Mid-1990s. Nicole McCallum's parents buy the business.
- 2015. The North Kitsap Herald covers the 20th anniversary of Coast Do It Best Hardware. It names Bonita Doerksen as owner and Nick McCallum as store manager, and reports that Doerksen hoped to "pass on the torch" to her two adult children someday. That August, the store had also won the paper's Readers' Choice Award for the ninth year in a row.
- 2020. The Kitsap Sun identifies Nick and Nicole McCallum as co-owners.
- Summer 2026. Inventory-reduction sales begin.
- August 25, 2026. The downsizing is announced publicly.
- Through December 31, 2026. The reduction sales are scheduled to continue.
The 2015 article describes a store at full size. It lists power tools, hand tools, sporting goods, plastic flamingo lawn decorations, Seahawks gear and a whole aisle of bird seed. Store owner Doerksen's line at the time was "If we don't have it, we'll find it for you." That summer's anniversary sale marked much of the stock down by 20 percent or more. After the Readers' Choice win, a tent sale drew as many as 1,500 customers over four days.
The 2026 plan cuts that broad stock back to the counter. The family ownership stays the same.
The Condition Written Into the Announcement
Nicole McCallum's statement in the release explains the decision more clearly than the business reasons do:
"This has been an incredibly difficult decision for our family and our team. My parents bought this store in the mid 90's. I've grown up in it. The idea of closing was too heartbreaking, so downsizing was the only next step. We hope the community will help us keep our doors open until the day we can expand into a larger footprint. Until then, you will still be able to have your keys copied, get the fasteners, odds, ends and staples at our store. We will be here as long as the community wants us here. Love you, Poulsbo."
Two phrases carry the weight. "Until the day we can expand into a larger footprint" presents the smaller store as a temporary arrangement that could grow back. "As long as the community wants us here" sets the condition for staying. Co-owner Nick McCallum said the move was a way "to continue to move forward in a responsible manner" and called it "this humbling step toward a sustainable future."
When McCallum describes what will still be there, she names keys, fasteners, "odds, ends and staples." Those are small, everyday purchases. The owners have said publicly that the store's future depends on community support. The services they kept are the ones most likely to bring people through the door on a regular basis.
This isn't new for the store. The 2026 profile describes Coast as a Do It Best co-op store, which means the McCallums share in the profits of their brand and reinvest them in their own business. McCallum also described it as "100% family-owned and community-based" and said, "we don't answer to a big corporation."
The same profile lists Lemolo, Suquamish, Bangor and Bainbridge Island among the Liberty Bay communities the store serves.
What the August Announcement Left Open
The August release left most of the practical details for later. It said they would be shared "on the store's social media channels and in person at the store." Any update since then would most likely appear there first.
Here is what the August 25 announcement covered and what it left out:
| Detail | In the August 25, 2026 announcement |
|---|---|
| Location | Staying on 7th Avenue, confirmed in the August announcement |
| Services kept | Key cutting, locksmithing, specific fasteners, paint matching, advice |
| Inventory-reduction sales | Began in summer, run through the end of 2026 |
| Specific sale discounts or dates | To be shared later |
| New store layout | To be shared later |
| Adjusted store hours | To be shared later |
| Departments being cut | Not named |
| Plans for the vacated space | Not mentioned |
| Transition date | Described only as "the coming months" |
The release refers to savings on "select departments and categories" without naming them. Several departments from the store's longer list could change. These include the automotive section, fresh and saltwater fishing gear and bait, and seasonal lawn and garden products. The August announcement didn't say which ones stay.
Using the Store Between Now and December 31
Here are the practical points for the rest of 2026:
- Hours. The official Do it Best listing currently shows Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The listing is undated. The owners have said adjusted hours are coming, so treat these as the hours listed today.
- Sales. The reduction sales are scheduled to continue through the end of 2026. If you have a larger project planned, the selection of discontinued stock will likely shrink as the year goes on. The release doesn't say which items those will be.
- Counter services. Key copies, lock work, paint matching and fastener searches are the services the owners have committed to keeping after the transition.
- Updates. Layout, hours and sale announcements will come through the store's social media channels and from staff in the store.
The address stays the same: 19494 7th Ave NE #122 in the Poulsbo Village shopping center.
Some home projects grow beyond a matched quart of paint and a bag of fasteners, especially when preparing a Poulsbo home for market. Mark Middleton Real Estate manages pre-listing preparation from start to finish, from repair projects through staging. Request a private consultation to plan the work before your listing date.
