Pittsfield Community Guidebook

Crust Pizza uses the finest ingredients it can find for its handcrafted pizzas.
BUSINESSES, from page 29
Carr Hardware has eight locations in
western Massachusetts and northern
Connecticut, and its flagship store is in
Pittsfield at 547 North St. The store has
been in business since 1928 and was purchased
by the Raser family in 1962, owner
Bart Raser said.
“It’s a full-line hardware and rental operation,
so we sell hardware, electrical,
plumbing, tools, paint, all the things you
would imagine,” Raser said. “We are also
in the equipment and party and event
rental business. Another big piece is our
industrial-commercial business, called
Carr Supply. That sells large institutional,
government and large contractor supplies.”
Because hardware stores were considered
an essential business by the commonwealth
during the COVID-19 shutdown,
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Carr Hardware remained open from day
one. And business was booming.
“We were considered an essential business,
so we were quite busy,” Raser said.
“We sold a lot of PPE (personal protective
equipment) and a lot of home improvement.”
With most people staying home far more
than they typically would, the early days
See BUSINESSES, page 31
BUSINESSES, from page 30
of the pandemic were a busy
time for Carr Hardware.
“People were doing a lot of
painting, gardening, all kinds
of home repair,” Raser said.
“People wanted to be outside,
so we saw a lot of outdoor living
improvement — we sold
a lot of outdoor fire pits, outdoor
furniture, hammocks,
mosquito magnets, things
that would extend the outdoor
season.”
As an essential business, the
store was never shut down
and adapted from the start of
the outbreak to safely serve its
customers, he said.
“We were customer-facing
from start to finish,” Raser
noted. “We revolutionized
our platform in terms of flexibility
— we allowed phonein,
email, texting to order for
curbside pickup. We brought
in sanitizers so we could spray
our stores in the morning and
throughout the day to keep
everybody safe.”
Carr Hardware and its employees
took great care to follow
health department best practices
to prevent the spread
of the virus as the stores remained
open for business.
“We were hyperaggressive
about it — we partnered with
a local liquor manufacturer
who was making hand sanitizer
so we could distribute
it throughout our footprint
when nobody else could get
it,” Raser said. “We partnered
with a group of seamstresses
who made masks for us in the
beginning of the pandemic
when they weren’t available.”
While business was booming
throughout the virus outbreak,
there were challenges
in hiring and maintaining an
adequate workforce to serve
all those customers as it became
difficult to attract workers
willing to interact with the
public.
“The aftermath of personnel
has been the biggest negative
takeaway that we have had
from the pandemic,” Raser
said. “Demand was brisk, but
our ability to execute at retail
was challenged because folks
who were customer-facing
became uncomfortable. We
had a lot of people who had
been with us for many, many
years make the decision to retire
because maybe they were
a little bit older and they were
afraid. We were on the frontlines
throughout the pandemic.
And now, with the global
staffing crisis, it has been hard
to find workers. That has been
the biggest impact for us —
finding workers.”
But like other Pittsfield businesses,
Raser has found strong
support from the community.
“The community has been
incredibly supportive,” Raser
said. “There has been a
big push back to shopping
local and brick-and-mortar
throughout this. The large majority
of our stores are located
in downtowns so we are big
believers in downtown and
community, and they have
supported us throughout the
pandemic.”
CRUST PIZZA
James Cervone, owner of
Crust Pizza, got his business
off the ground a few months
into the start of the pandemic
but rethought his business
model to accommodate state
and local health guidelines
and has thrived.
“We started right in the middle
of the pandemic,” Cervone
said. “We opened Aug. 31,
2020. We are located right in
the center of Pittsfield at 505
East St.”
Cervone relocated the business
to its current location
in January of 2020. When the
pandemic began in March of
that year, no one knew how intense
it would be or how long
the virus would remain.
“COVID was supposed to go
away over the summer, but no
one really knew what was go-
See BUSINESSES, page 32
HAPPINESS TOOLBOX FOR BERKSHIRE YOUTH
We focus on the unity in Community
Happiness Toolbox (ages 4- 14) This program promotes cultural and
multilingual literacy for children of all backgrounds. Fun, exploratory
curriculum includes embracing diverse cultures, learning foreign
languages, developing and identifying community and personal values,
connecting to self and environment.
For more information or to joing the Real Talk
please call 413.394.4305 or visit our website:
WWW.MULTICULTURALBRIDGE.ORG
MARK T. BRENNAN
Attorney At Law
54 North Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Pittsfield 413.499.1022
Amherst 413.253.3111
Fax 413.499.1023
Email: mark@brennanlawoffices.com
30 • Pittsfield Community Guidebook Pittsfield Community Guidebook • 31