Miner’s Hardware store in Los Osos expands into shuttered gym space next door

Miner’s Ace Hardware store will expand in Los Osos, taking over 9,000 square feet formerly occupied by the Los Osos Fitness gym next door.

The gym closed earlier this year due to COVID-19 and financing issues as the pandemic has punished some retail uses and favored others.

An affiliated physical therapy office next door moved to a new location. Both gyms and physical therapy facilities have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.

That business, Sunnyside Physical Therapy, is now located at 1320 Van Beurden Drive, Suite 103. The phone number is unchanged, 805-528-2590.

“It’s a crazy, uncertain time,” said Miner’s President Paul Filice, who confirms the plan to remodel the space and open it up by the end of the year. The demo and remodeling work is already underway this week.

The new retail space will be “dedicated for hardware, paint, tools, plumbing and electrical and all the things we already do. We are also making a larger nursery area outside to improve our selections of live goods, garden products, lumber and building materials.”

“Our expansion plans include more and better selections of grills and accessories, larger selection of outdoor power equipment like Stihl, Toro and Ego brands (and) more patio furniture and a larger selection of pet supplies,” Filice said.

“We are going to hire 10 to 15 more full-time people and are excited to grow our footprint in Los Osos,” said Filice, who has been in his post since 2008.

Asked how COVID has impacted the business, Filice said the small chain located in Central California is enjoying a turbulent but profitable year with the number of customers and how much they spend higher than last year.

“With people spending more time at home, our industry has seen growth over the past five months. People are looking at the projects they never had time to do and getting them done. Small remodels, painting a couple rooms, and upgrading their grills and backyards to name a few,“ he said.

”Our team has really pulled together and done a great job, not only in Los Osos but in all our locations,” Filice said. “I can’t say enough about our wonderful customers and how understanding they have been with all of the changes to policy and procedure we have gone through over the last 5 months. We are truly blessed to be in the Los Osos community for the last 20 years and hope to be there for another 25 years!”

Business growth in Los Osos

Miner’s Ace Hardware isn’t the only business in Los Osos showing signs of growth amid the pandemic. Several local restaurants, in particular, are aiming to come back with many setting up outside tables.

The Olde Ale House brewpub on Los Osos Valley Road is about ready to open after a year of work, and new owners of the closed Baywood Tavern brewpub at 3rd and Santa Maria are planning to reopen. Baywood also has filled a couple of former empty storefronts, including a soap shop and art studio.

There is new energy behind the town’s third made-from-scratch bakery. Owner Tim Veatch’s Wayside Baking already offers his lineup of French pastries and bread out of a warehouse at 2015 Fairchild, but now he’s also remodeling a retail location next to La Casita on 9th street.

Veatch says he is working with the county planning department but has no date yet to open.

Speaking of a long time coming, the former Sculptured Egg spot in Baywood is getting a new life after High Street Deli owner Randy “Doobie” Coates bought the place.

Remodeling started on the building last year, but it was later tied up by a stop-order from the county.

Now the county has issued a new permit for the remodel for what is called Randy’s Shack at 1326 Second St., located across from the Blue Heron. Construction is finally underway.

Also, the Baywood Inn has added a new wing and is replacing the Second Street parking lot with landscaping. Guests are now required to park in the rear.

One more sign Los Osos is slowly coming out of COVID slumber: Chase Bank is expected to reopen early next month.

This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM.