Strategies_Spring2023

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Seizing Success Danek Hardware and Lumber Co. Embraces Tradition and Change

Dolly Danek and her children Greg Danek, Teresa Nemec, Michelle Eckert and John Danek are the primary stockholders of the business.

D anek Hardware and Lumber Co., located in a rapidly growing Jarrell, Texas, can trace its roots back to 1909. Originally Jarrell Hardware Co., the operation was founded to support the newly formed and thriving farming community.

Ownership of the 5,000-square-foot store changed hands multiple times until its purchase in 1954 by local farmer John F. Danek, who changed the store’s name to reflect his family name. John turned over the store’s daily operations to his son Emil J. Danek in 1967, who began working at the store after high school. Emil and his wife Dolly officially purchased the store in 1972 and Emil continued to come to the store every day until his passing on March 31, 2022. Currently, Dolly Danek and her children Greg Danek, Teresa Nemec, Michelle Eckert and John Danek are the primary stockholders of the business.

Greg, John and Teresa handle the day-to-day operations, but Dolly still comes to the store every day for a few hours. Growth and Goals Jarrell has historically been a small community, located along Interstate Highway 35 between Austin and Waco, Texas. In recent years, farmers have been selling off land, resulting in subdivisions popping up in the area in large numbers. “Jarrell is a rapidly growing community,” Teresa says. “We have had the biggest housing growth in our county and have been nationally recognized as one of the fastest growing areas in the country.”

26 Spring 2023 • Hardlines Strategies