You don't realize how important a hardware store is until you don't have one nearby.

That was a common refrain among Penn Valley residents last year when the Hill family closed their True Value store after 33 years in business.

A year later, when the store opened back up — gutted, renovated and under new ownership — more than a thousand residents showed up for the grand opening.

Penn Valley True Value was back in business.

“We barbecued hot dogs in the parking lot for the opening,” said Dave Gutierrez, who now owns the store with his wife Candy. “We went through 1,000 hot dogs in two days. Ever since then it's been crazy; it's been a joy.”

In 1979, when Gutierrez and his wife moved to Placerville from San Jose to open a True Value hardware store, it was a struggle.

“It was a one-man operation,” said Gutierrez, with a laugh. “I was the cashier, salesman — everything. To top it off, we had newborn twin boys.”

Thirty-two years later, those twin sons are now running their parents' two hardware stores — the original one in Placerville and the newly purchased Penn Valley True Value.

While their father mentors and prepares his sons to take over the family business, 32-year-old twins Jeff and Scott Gutierrez are in charge of store operations, including a total of 45 employees at the two locations.

Growing up in their father's store means there's not much the brothers don't know about hardware. Scott Gutierrez, who oversees operations at the Penn Valley store, spent 12 years working for Meeks Lumber and Hardware — including five as a merchandising manager — before coming back to the family business.

While the Placerville store has tough competition — such as a nearby Home Depot — their business has continued to increase by “double digits” annually, said Dave Gutierrez, something he attributes to old fashioned customer service and a new floor design.

“We're determined to provide that same level of customer service here in Penn Valley,” he said. “And customers love the Penn Valley remodel — the store looks much bigger and brighter.”

Scott Gutierrez and his wife Rory said they knew within minutes of seeing the town and the store that they wanted to move to Penn Valley. Rory is finishing up her residency in pharmacology at U.C. Davis.

“We love it here,” said Scott. “Rory loves horses — this is the perfect place for us.”

Penn Valley True Value carries a full line of do-it-yourself products geared for home maintenance, repair and gardening. Headquartered in Chicago, the True Value Company is one of the world's largest retailer-owned hardware cooperatives, with sales of $1.8 billion in 2010. The cooperative includes roughly 4,700 independent retailer locations internationally, and enables rural stores like Penn Valley True Value to offer competitive prices, even for special orders and bigger ticket items, such as barbecues.

There are a number plans in the works for the Penn Valley store, said Scott Gutierrez, including a larger lumber selection and a full-line rental yard with Bobcat and John Deere tractors, in addition to party rentals.

“We have been so well received here — I honestly couldn't be more happy,” said Scott Gutierrez. “Buying the Penn Valley store has exceeded our expectations. I'm sure many people think it's boring, but I love hardware stores. It's been a good road for us — this is where Rory and I want to spend the rest of our lives. We're a very close-knit family and we all work well together.”

To contact Staff Writer Cory Fisher, e-mail cfisher@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4203.