In Northern Virginia you can turn just about any corner and run across a “mega” store.  When it comes to building and remodeling supplies everyone knows about the competition between the folks in the blue aprons and those in the orange ones.  There is no doubt that when it comes to the basics these stores have loads of variety and if you can find it yourself you can be in and out in no time. 

However, if you need help and happen to be trying to remodel a 1950’s vintage Springfield home, you are going to spend a lot of time wandering up and down the aisles looking for parts they don’t carry.  Instead you need to head to the hardware store that our family started using when we moved to Springfield in 1955-Fischers Hardware. 

If you had asked me a few years ago what an escutcheon was I would have given you the same DUH look that I got in the mega store.  Yet walk in to the plumbing department at  Fischers Hardware and not only did they know exactly what I was talking about but they even have the parts.  To make it even better as the plumbing project grew bigger they lent me the tools I need to remove an old drain from a cast iron tub and pre-built the new sink trap so that I could just glue it together when I got home.  You aren’t ever going to find that level of service at a mega store. 

Now Fischers Hardware doesn’t just carry stuff for the older Springfield houses.  You will find a well stocked store with everything you will need for your home project.   A great trivia game to ask anyone who has been a longtime resident of Springfield is to ask if they can name all of the retail locations that Fischers has occupied since it was established in 1953.  Fortunately for our family they were all within walking distance of our house! 

So if you are tired of trying to find a parking place at the mega store or would like to experience old fashioned helpful service then wander over to Fischers Hardware.  And if you need escutcheons for your bathroom just ask John or Ray and they will be glad to help you.  Fischers is located in the Concord Shopping Center between Brandon and Backlick Road, 6129 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA.

 P.S. If you want to find out how well someone knows Springfield, ask them to name all of the locations Fischers Hardware has been since they first opened their doors in 1953.  They have always been within walking distance of the home where I grew up!