An Open Letter to the Mt. Pleasant/Columbia Heights Community
from Todd Pfeiffer, Owner of Pfeiffer's Hardware

December 18, 2006

Dear friends,

It has been exactly 3 years since my wife Adriana and I took over the
hardware store from our neighbor, Haldane Prince. In those three
years, I have gotten to know many of you very well. The joy of being
a local shopkeeper has always been my relationships with you, my
customers and friends. I know the success of my business has been
because of those ties.

And I know the store is much more than just a place to fulfill your
hardware needs. It's also a place to connect and feel connected with
our wonderful community. That is why I am now coming to you as I
ponder my future and the future of Pfeiffer's Hardware.
The time certainly has gone by quickly. Three years isn't even as
long as high school or college, and yet in the number of cherished
memories made, dear friendships forged and valuable life lessons
learned, owning the store has trumped those wonderful experiences
tenfold.

We bought the store on a whim really, guided by gut instinct. We saw
it advertised in the City Paper, and my wife and I, with no retail
experience, rushed in with the idea that it might be fun, rewarding,
and perhaps one day profitable. We had no idea what we were getting
ourselves into. And that was probably for the best.

We could never have predicted how much we'd learn, or how
unbelievably accepting, supportive, and affectionate this community
would be to us. The characters we would come to know and love. The
fascinating, inspirational, downright bizarre, and remarkable
customers we would interact with on a daily basis. We have often said
to one another that we could never have opened a business in a more
extraordinary neighborhood. When times have been lean, and sometimes
they have been, we have buoyed one another by reminding ourselves how
lucky we were to be in the middle of such a brilliant, colorful,
diverse, worldly, accomplished, oddball community. Oh, the
conversations I've had while copying keys!

For three years, I have poured my heart and soul and many long hours
into the store, and have made significant sacrifices to my family in
order to do so. That said, we are enormously proud of what we have
built with your help.

Now that we have Baby #2 on the way, I have come to another important
life decision guided by instinct. The business is doing well and on
the brink of something big. Yet for personal reasons, I feel that
this is my time to exit.

In the past three years, my goals and circumstances have changed. I
am no longer able to throw myself headlong into making a business
venture work. I am now a father who would like to put my young family
first and enjoy all the small and life-changing moments with them.

Owning the store is exhilarating, rewarding, gratifying work, but it
is also consuming, grueling and demanding. At least it was for me.
Even though it might not be the wisest strategic business decision, I
wanted you, my friends and neighbors to be the first to know that we
are looking for a buyer for our business. Adriana and I feel so
deeply beholden to the community for our success and the support
you've given us that we want to give a neighbor the first opportunity
to build on my foundation, as I have built upon Prince's.

Our best-case dream scenario is that we sell our business to someone
(or someones) in the community who cares as deeply about the area as
we do. Maybe a cooperative of interested buyers, maybe a consortium
of friends or relatives, maybe just the right individual. Who knows?
But if anywhere on earth there is the drive, acumen, talent, and
vision to structure a unique deal, it's gotta' be within this one
square mile.

So...this is an open call for proposals. We are open to any ideas. Be
creative. Ever flirt with the idea of running your own business?
This may be opportunity knocking. A hardware store is a vital part of
a vital community. We are looking to sell to someone who truly
understands that.

It has been my absolute pleasure and privilege to serve your hardware
needs for three years. I am deeply grateful for the warmth and
affection you have shown us. I hope you will understand that this is
what is best for me and my family.

We don't know what lies in store for our family. I'll be looking for
a more conventional job if you have any suggestions. Our plan is to
remain in the neighborhood and cheer on the next owner of the
hardware store so that it becomes an even more valuable and treasured
member of the community.

Pfeiffer's Hardware, the sequel. Interested?

Love, peace, and chicken grease,

Todd Pfeiffer
Owner, Pfeiffer's Hardware
todd@...