LAKE MILLS — A family-owned and operated business in Lake Mills has expanded and will soon celebrate with a grand reopening.

Singelstad Do it Best Hardware doubled in size over the winter after adding 65,000 square feet on to the facility. Store manager Kris Singelstad said the store was able to stay open throughout the duration of the project, which started in the fall.

The extra space has allowed the store to expand its appliance section and add 5,000 new products to its inventory.

“We’re a small town hardware store, but we carry a wide variety of products,” Singelstad said. “And with our expansion, I feel I’ve hit most of the market on hardware needs.”

He said the appliance department, which started in 2011, was continuing to grow every year and equipment rental services continue to draw customers in from a 30- to 40-mile radius.

“It’s a niche market that we got into in the late ’90s and we’ve just kind of stuck with it,” Singelstad said about the rental aspect of the business. “It’s been a great category for us.”

The store rents smaller equipment, such as garden tillers, seeders and trenchers; and larger equipment, including aerial lifts, skid loaders and excavators.

He said diversifying and finding these niches is what allows the store to have such competitive prices on the Whirlpool, Maytag and Amana products it sells.

“Our customers support us and we appreciate that,” Singelstad said. “And we try to do the best we can to help them out with every project. We strive for that.”

Experience seems to weigh in the family’s favor when it comes to their product knowledge. Singelstad’s father, Kermit Singelstad, has worked at the hardware store for 40 years and purchased the business in 2005. Singelstad’s first job was coming in and helping dust when he was about 10. Now, at age 35, he already has 18 years under his belt with the company.

To celebrate the new addition and the customers who made it all possible, Singelstad Do It Best Hardware will host a grand reopening on May 10 and 11.

On May 10 the store will host a demonstration day.

“I have some of our premier vendors showing off some of our products,” Singelstad said.

It will also have in-store specials that day.

Throughout the day, the store will be grilling for guests and at the end of the day, the grill will be given away.

At 5 p.m. there will be a ribbon cutting and Lake Mills’ 5 Alarm Brewing Co. will be on site. The store will also have appetizers from 5 to 7 p.m. 

May 11 will be the hardware store’s customer appreciation day. Singelstad said the local Boy Scouts will be there providing a free will donation lunch to customers. There will also be activities in the parking lot, including a bounce house, and hourly giveaways from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Singelstad said more activities will be planned for the future, including how-to workshops.

“It’s not just a business,” he said. “It’s a lifestyle for us.”