Don’t dread the next snow. Embrace it.
If you’re looking for a little fun when Warren County turns into a winter wonderland, Pioneer Express at Northgate Center is the place to turn.
“We sold several sleds the last time it snowed,” said Pioneer Express employee Johnny Carter. “We have several different types, including the traditional toboggan sleds and disc sleds.”
Pioneer Express is entering its fourth month of operation. The business is an expansion of Pioneer Building Supply, which has been a Warren County staple for decades.
“This store has an entirely different customer base,” said Red Craven, who has 39 years of experience in the building supply industry. “We get a lot more traffic for smaller retail items. The other store is geared more toward contractors. There are a lot of people who don’t want to drive across town to that store, but they will come here. We’re seeing a lot of new customers.”
Pioneer Building Supply is located on Morrison Street in Westwood. Pioneer Express is located at Northgate Center between China Wok and Sears.
“We have 22 shells in stock and that’s a really popular item,” said employee Wilburn Roach. To prove his point, a customer walked in Wednesday afternoon and promptly bought two boxes of 22 ammo.
Between Roach, Craven and Carter, they have a combined 109 years of building supply experience. The store at Northgate Center has become a hub for paint sales. Porter and PPG, two high-end paint brands, are available.
“We have custom matching on paints and on stains,” said Carter. “We’re the only store I’ve heard of that will custom match a stain. For the paint, we can cross reference any competitor’s color so it’s a perfect match. When it leaves the store, we don’t want it to come back.”
Pioneer Express has shelves full of cleaning supplies, tools, plumbing and electrical items, light bulbs, door knobs, and air filters for your heating and air unit.
“Everybody says we have the best prices on air filters,” said Roach. “It’s suggested you replace your furnace filter once a month.”
It’s not a problem to special order an item. It typically takes about a week to arrive, according to Roach.
“There are some things the big-box stores have discontinued,” said Roach. “If a customer wants to come in here, we can get it and in most cases it will be as cheap, or cheaper, than what they were paying.”
The Pioneer Express phone number is 473-1555. Hours are Monday thru Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.