Mary's Ace Hardware

On July 4,1982 Tom Wood opened a hardware store in the French Quarter at 908 Bourbon St. He wanted the store to be an Ace franchise but the location was too close to United Hardware on Elysian Fields, so True Value it was. After many successful years Tom invited his sister Connie, her husband and their three sons to run the store, giving them a 75% share. Tom wanted to move the store to Rampart St. and make it the Ace franchise he always wanted; not agreeing with the decision Connie and her husband abandoned the business. The name, Tom’s favorite haunt in Houston was a biker bar named Mary’s, when he opened the store Mary’s was the only name that worked and the Windmill? When the store opened on Bourbon, Tom put ladders/trash cans on the sidewalk. The Vieux Carre Commission would make him bring them back in, so he started putting out the windmill because it was easy to pull back in when they came by, until finally they quit pestering him. Welcome to Mary’s Ace Hardware & Kitchen/Bath