Drivers heading west along Negley Avenue will find one thing. A dead end.

But after they pull a, hopefully, legal U-turn, they’ll find on their right-hand side a parking lot wrapped around a large 32,000 square-foot building belonging to the Home Improvement Center.

Owner David Wood said the business is owned and operated by his family with an older style of doing business.

“We’re the last of an old hardware store,” Wood said, “the old mom and pop hardware store.”

Attached to the side of a large showroom is a room filled with small parts and pieces. Some items are in boxes, packaged in large quantities while others are in boxes that are open to be picked at down to a single screw.

All of the parts are open and available to be handled to ensure that the part is the correct one.

Wood said the idea of being open to different possibilities, even if it means selling only one screw, appeals to customers.

“We continue to do that old-fashion service,” he said.

Wood said the variety is seen in the hardware section of the store and it is seen on a larger scale in the showroom.

Wood said his family started the company in 1980, and their first plan was to have anything the customers could possibly want. So Wood went to the Butler Public Library and checked the Thomas Register, which contains contact information for thousands of manufacturers.

Wood said he would get a mailing address and sometimes a phone number if he was lucky. This was well before the Internet and e-mail were widely used.

“Now, it’s easy. Just Google it,” he said.

Wood continued to contact the manufacturers and in doing so was able to accomplish his goal. He said his store now has or can order from almost any manufacturer that a customer requests.

“You don’t have to settle for things,” Wood said. “We don’t have to say ‘no’ to our customers often.”

Wood said he also has items in his showroom that can be customized, like cabinets that can be matched to any color.

“We truly cover from the entry-level to something you created that nobody else ever had,” he said.

Wood said the company can help with most projects around the house, but it specializes in kitchens and bathrooms. He said thanks to an improving economy, business has improved, and people are beginning to select pricier products that will last longer.

“We’re seeing larger kitchen projects again this year,” Wood said.

Wood said kitchens are the ideal place to start when revamping. He said a large kitchen remodel with durability in mind could cost $30,000 to $50,000.

“It’s the hub of the house,” he said.

Wood said stone countertops are very popular. Granite countertops have been introduced to the public as long-lasting and durable products that also look good.

Wood has added a section in his showroom that holds large granite slab samples.

Wood said his company doesn’t stop at selling the product. Since the beginning, it has helped customers design their ideal kitchen or bathroom through computer programs.

It can render the design in 3-D to help customers see what their project will look like and make adjustments if necessary.

“The program has the capability to plug it in and do a virtual tour of the whole house,” Wood said.

The company can install what it sells, and the installations give the small business an edge.

“It’s the thing we have to battle the giants out in the world,” he said.

Wood knows the business must overcome its out-of-the way location, but as a family operation it was able to keep going through tough economic times.

Wood is confident customers will continue to find their way to his store thanks to his dedicated family, wide selection and quality installations.

“We’re family owned and operated for 37 years,” Wood said. “We are one of those hidden treasures.”