Beug’s Ace Hardware Sold; Will To Relocate To JC Penney Building in 2024

Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – After 80 years and three generations of family ownership, Beug Ace Hardware in Detroit Lakes is being sold.

Current owners Bruce Beug, and his brother Mark, are selling the business that their grandparents Paul and Elsie Beug started in 1943 in Luverne, Minnesota. They moved the business to Detroit Lakes in 1969 when the building’s former tenant, ironically JC Penney, moved down Washington Avenue to its current location.

Bruce and Mark’s parents, Herb and Ramona, took over the store in 1986. Bruce and Mark took over the family business in 1996.

Jeff Cwikla, who owns Ace Hardware in Park Rapids, is purchasing the business with plans to move it to the current JC Penney building once JCP closes in May. Cwikla has owned Ace in Park Rapids for six years but has been with Ace Hardware for three decades, including managing a store in Bemidji.

Cwikla has plans to expand Ace when he relocates to the JCP building, including a significant remodel and product expansion.

Cwikla will take ownership of Beug Ace Hardware on September 4th. The store will remain at its current location until remodeling at 925 Washington Ave is complete. Move-in is expected sometime in early 2024.

The Beug brothers will retain possession of their business’ current building at 801 Washington Avenue, which was built in 1914. They are debating on whether to lease or sell the property.