Plains hardware store expands

The Gambles store in Plains now has room to spread out after acquiring the lot across the street where the gasket company used to be. GOR had growing pains of its own and moved to a bigger location. This opened up the space behind Gambles for Matt and Dana Diehl to build storage shops to house maintenance equipment, overstock supplies and a general work space. August will mark their 20th year of ownership. Matt's parents opened the store in 1993. This is the store's second major expansion since 2001.

"It has been nice to be able to expand across the street," Matt Diehl said. The place was a perfect location for the three buildings needed to store bulk items and operate from, he added.

"It frees us up to wait on more people at one time. There is better parking for bigger trucks and it allows us to get people in and out more efficiently. Makes for happy customers. We want to help and service the community as best we can," he concluded.