Grand Lake Ace Hardware

Big fan of Grand Lake Ace Hardware. I have been a customer since 2002 and make Ace Hardware and the neighboring Ace Garden Center my one stop shopping destination throughout the year. The service is terrific, the employee turnover appears to be low (which lends to a neighborhood feel) and both the hardware and garden centers always have what I need in-​stock. Another plus… parking!
Eric and Tom, in the Ace Garden Center, are first rate, always provide stellar customer service and make it a point to engage and thank their customers!

The best hardware store in California, may be in the country! Worth the trip. I am lucky to be located nearby.
Very competent people help you solve all your problems, yes all your problems, even a dispute with your spouse about how to fix something!
Plenty of parking space. Bike parking against street sign!

Helpful, knowledgeable employees make this Ace wonderful. After I’d waited in vain for a plumber for five long days, Robert in plumbing sold me a Clog Buster for $ 12.99, after advising me against some alternatives I was considering that wouldn’t have worked. It succeeded, when drain cleaner, snakes, and coat hangers had failed. When I came back to the store with a piece of pipe that was corroded through, Robert cut a replacement specially, and put all the hardware on it for me. Prices may be a little higher at Ace, but the friendly, competent customer service makes the place a bargain.

Great local hardware store. They have some hard to find items for an old house like mine. Parking is sometimes a pain but there almost always is street parking if their lot is full.

The only reason Grand Lake Ace doesn’t get 5 stars is because there isn’t enough parking. Otherwise, this place is fantastic. They have knowledgeable, extremely helpful sales associates crawling all over the store. They are very patient with customers such as myself who have no experience in the world of home improvement projects. The lines at the cash register are always short. This hardware store is beautifully managed.

Super helpful & pro-​active staff. I appreciate the size & selection of this store.

I am so glad that we still have Ace Hardware as an alternative to the big box depot stores. Am I right or wrong when I say that Ace does it right? You walk in and there are friendly folks in red shirts who are there to help you select the right item. We all need to keep Ace a reality so when your project is right for Ace, always choose Ace. It’s one those American institutions that are successful because of their customer service and they’re not public. If they were, I’d buy stock in the company!

Plant selection is great. The folks who work out in the nursery are really knowledgable and helpful with suggestions for plant material based on setting, soil, color, and season. They will help you get mulch or soil into your car and offer you something to protect your trunk. Really glad this place is there.

Love this hardware store ! Lots of helpful folks, a great selection of DIY materials, and all kinds of surprising sundries — my sister even found a very cool, modern-​looking hannukia (Hanukkah menorah) there.
You never have to go a find a sales associate here (like in the big DIY stores), and that is very helpful to those of us who need help finding plumbing and electrical parts/​
Not sure if they are including the garden store in this review, but that is also a terrific nursery with lots of knowledgeable folks working there.
Love it, love it, love it/​them

I cannot rate this place highly enough. I went in yesterday to order a gas grill as a housewarming gift for my sister and was told it could be delivered assembled this same weekend! Memorial Day weekend no less! The person who delivered it today spent over 15 minutes going over all the details of the grill and helpful tips for use, cleaning, safety, etc. You would never get this kind of service from an online or big box retailer. And the price was comparable to what I had seen online.
Additionally, I was in the store needing help with fastening a handle to a children’s toy and the person who assisted me spent as much time as it took to complete this task-​he was clearly a mechanical engineer in a previous life and wasn’t going to give up until the toy was fixed.
If I could give this place 10 stars I would.

Simply put, this place is THE BEST.
This might sound strange, but this particular Ace Hardware is one of my favorite places to visit in not only my neighborhood, but all of Oakland.
I’m not sure how to put it into words exactly, but the nostalgia I experience every time I stop in (the smell of a hardware store is very specific and I get heavy flashbacks of accompanying my dad as a little girl, playing with the magnets, getting a candy cane during the holidays etc.), the first class customer experience (I challenge you to find better!), and the feeling I have when I leave that I actually think I might know a little more about what I’m doing — be it fixing a leaky pipe or hanging something heavy up on dry wall… all makes for one helluva spirit boost.
If you don’t believe me, next time you need some nails or screws of a certain size, for the love of God, do not go to Home Depot! Avoid avoid! Just thinking about the parking lot experience over there alone gives me anxiety.
Instead, try out the Ace on Grand. It’s one of those shopping experiences that leaves you thinking, geez maybe the world isn’t such an awful place after all? You may even find yourself wanting to skip to your car ;)

Really nice shopping experience here recently. I always have multiple projects going on and one of them was framing some prints.
Usually I would go to Cheap Pete’s which is where I picked up 2 in the wrong size, but there isn’t a location nearby.
Staff was really friendly. At least 2 associates came up to me to learn about my needs (hardware) and they steered me in the right direction. Glass cutting was simple and they double checked measurements. Also the cost was a few bucks less than Cheap Pete’s.

This place is great. It’s a nice balance between an old fashioned hardware store and modern one. You can find pretty much anything and like the old school places, you can still buy single pieces of hardware. The staff is always very nice and in general, very knowledgeable.
Honestly, I like just wandering around and looking at all the stuff. I almost always come up with some reason to start/​finish a project just from walking the isles. The only downside is they can be slightly more expensive than the «big box» places, but I’d much rather support local businesses. In the end, that extra dollar or two at checkout is more than worth it. Definitely one of the best hardware stores in town.

I haven’t encountered a problem with this Ace until recently. I came in with my mother, who’s an Ace Rewards member, to purchase an insecticide that we saw on sale in an Ace ad. We purchased the same product a couple days ago at the El Cerrito location for the advertised price and when we purchased it at this Oakland/​Piedmont location and presented her rewards card, it rang up as full price.
The ad we had in hand didn’t even help us. He told us that the product is a «mail-​in savings». We read the fine print, it says «Instant Savings amount available as mail-​in savings for NON-​Ace Rewards members.» The product advertised instant savings for ace rewards members! We presented our rewards card and ended up staying longer than we should’ve to get this cashier to honor what’s advertised. When we brought up that we purchased the product in El Cerrito for the sale price, he rudely told us to go back to the El Cerrito location!

Great service!
The staff are very knowledgable and helpful saved a lot if time finding what I was looking for… I’m going to miss this neighborhood hardware store!
Best place to find what you need fast without going into a big box store.