Mercedes Hardware Store to Celebrate Centennial

by Tony Vindell/LFN

Not too many businesses can last a century in this day and age.

But a store in Mercedes is getting ready to celebrate its first 100 years doing just that.

It’s Borderland Hardware.

In this shop people can find a little bit of everything for their households and where personal service is as good as it can be.

Kenneth Eilers said his father, Robert, bought the store 50 years ago, or 20 years later after he worked at its previous location on Texas Avenue.

“We moved to West Second Street because we needed more parking,” he said. “We have been here for the last two decades.”

Eilers said the store has tens of thousands of items but plumbing and electrical supplies are among its top sellers.

“Our selection of merchandise and having what our customers need is what makes Borderland Hardware,” he said. “We also believe in getting involved with the community.”

An example of that is his father, he said, who is a longtime board member with the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show.

In fact, he was attending a board meeting at the time of this interview.

Eilers said later this year they will celebrate the store’s centennial.

Ruben Perez and Vaudelia Garza said they like to stop by the store whenever they can.

“You can find some things not available in other places,” Perez, a former La Feria resident who now lives in Harlingen, said. “Things such as this.”

He was referring to a gadget he was going to use to get rid of scratches on one of his rifles.

Garza said she likes to walk around the store looking for unique items.

“My husband loves to shop here,” she said. “I can tell you that.”