Bowers Ace Hardware is set to open its sixth South Carolina location on Broad River Road in Irmo, giving the locally owned chain a fresh foothold in a stretch of the Midlands that has been steadily filling in with new retail. The store is set for a soft opening on Monday, November 9, followed by a grand opening on Saturday, November 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The new store is at 10546 Broad River Road in Irmo, according to swlexledger and an Ace Hardware store listing at 10546 Broad River Rd. Shoppers can expect to find the store in what swlexledger describes as a high-growth corridor on Broad River Road between I-26 and Ballentine.
What's Inside the New Irmo Store
The Irmo location is listed at 14,000 square feet, with a 5,000-square-foot garden center attached, per the same swlexledger report. Shelves will be stocked with hardware, lawn and garden supplies, paint, grilling products and other home-improvement essentials, and the store will serve as a full-line Benjamin Moore Premium and Professional paint provider — a program the company says is backed by knowledgeable associates, dedicated inside and outside sales representatives, and delivery services for both homeowners and professional contractors.
That paint emphasis has become something of a signature for the company. Bowers Ace Hardware's Elgin-Pontiac store, which opened earlier in 2026 and became the chain's fifth South Carolina location, carries the same full-line Benjamin Moore Premium/Pro paint service, according to SCBIZ. SCBIZ had previously reported that the Irmo store was expected to mirror that Pontiac location, and the finished store's size — 14,000 square feet with a 5,000-square-foot garden center — does run slightly larger than Elgin's 12,000-square-foot store and 4,000-square-foot garden center, as described by The State.
A Cookout and Giveaways for Grand-Opening Day
The November 21 grand opening will feature special promotions, giveaways, product demonstrations, special pricing, grill giveaways, room makeover allowances and additional prizes, the SWLexLedger report notes. A cookout is also planned for the day. It's a familiar playbook for the company — Elgin's grand opening in June included grill giveaways and specials of its own, The State reported at the time.
Claude Bowers, president of Bowers Ace Hardware, called the sixth store an exciting milestone for the company, saying it remains focused on customer care, knowledgeable staff, stocking needed products and helping customers complete their projects. He added that the company builds its stores to serve homeowners and contractors with suitable products, staff and delivery wherever customers need them.
From Two Stores in 2016 to Six Today
Bowers Ace Hardware traces its roots to 2016, when it began operating as South East Ace Hardware after Bowers acquired the Cayce and Beltline Boulevard stores. The company later acquired its Johns Island store in 2019 and its Lexington store in 2026, according to SCBIZ, and earlier this year it rebranded all of its locations under the Bowers Ace Hardware name.
The company now operates six locations across South Carolina — Cayce, Columbia, Lexington, Elgin, Johns Island and Irmo. It is headquartered in Cayce and is part of the Ace Hardware cooperative, which the company says provides national buying power alongside a personalized, service-driven retail experience. Bowers Ace Hardware describes itself as a South Carolina-based developer and operator of retail hardware stores that continues to evaluate new sites in communities where it believes its customer service can make a difference, and it says it welcomes conversations with independent hardware store owners considering retirement, succession planning or new ownership.
