Owner Kenny Tashman, third from left, has maintained the high-quality products and exemplary service at the store, which is celebrating a milestone anniversary. (photo courtesy of Kenny Tashman)

Tashman Home Center in West Hollywood has helped generations of customers find the right tools and materials needed to complete any repair project, from home improvements to major renovations.

Since opening on Santa Monica Boulevard in 1961, the store has steadily expanded to meet the needs of a changing world. Tashman Home Center offers a recently upgraded ACE Hardware affiliated store with expanded tool, paint and plumbing departments, as well as a window, door and screen showroom where customers can see and compare products for their homes and properties. Owner Kenny Tashman said the 65th anniversary marks a special time in the history of the store, and the community is invited to Tashman Home Center’s anniversary celebration on Sept. 24.

“It’s a rebirth. We’ve been completely remodeling and expanding the business over the last year, and the culmination is now incidentally coinciding with the timing of the 65th anniversary,” Tashman said. “We opened our new indoor showroom last year, and we have just finished remodeling the hardware store and expanding that, so it’s a bit of a rebirth and a celebration. We are obviously filling a need because people still call us every day, they come in every day, and we are obviously treating our customers nicely, so they like us still, and I think it is those two important elements. People still need to fix stuff, and people still like to be treated well. That has always been my philosophy, and it is still working.”

In a world of online shopping options and big box retail stores, Tashman said the home center fills a niche that can’t be found many places. He stressed the advantages of the product showroom.

“Everybody shops online, and when they get it, it’s not the same thing,” Tashman said. “I really emphasize people coming to the store, really feeling the windows and the doors and the hardware because you can understand why this one costs more, this one costs less, and you can make a good judgment based on your project. The worst thing is having to buy something twice. I really try to get people to come in and make a good choice.”

The home center also offers full-service consultation and installation, making it a seamless process.

“One of the key factors is that we are licensed contractors and we do professional installation. Many stores, in fact most stores in L.A., only sell windows and doors; they don’t install them,” Tashman said. “So it’s one-stop shopping for a lot of homeowners and contractors. We have a very highly trained staff, a really great team of installers and carpenters and glazers.”

The business was started by Tashman’s grandfather Charles and father Mark and was initially located across the street from the store’s present location at 7763 and 7769 Santa Monica Blvd., where they moved in 1971. Tashman said he essentially worked at the store since childhood and was always eager to carry on the family business. He is joined today in operating the business by his daughter Sarah.

“Now my daughter works with me, and she is generation four. So that is also a really great new development that I didn’t expect,” he said. “She has brought a whole new zest and perspective to the business. She is learning how to run the hardware store, and that is a really neat thing.”

The anniversary celebration on Sept. 24 runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and everyone is welcome.

“The Milwaukee [tools] truck will be here with all different tools to demo. We will have 65 cent keys. We are going to have a raffle, giving away some windows and doors and tools, and it will just be fun,” Tashman added. “The mayor from West Hollywood is coming. The L.A. Conservancy is coming to recognize our work in the historical window and door sector of L.A. because that is a big part of our work. And then we will have a bunch of customers here to celebrate and have a good time.”

Tashman added that he plans to continue the home center’s tradition of service and convenience, and welcomes the public to visit the store to see for themselves what makes it unique.

“People seem to like the local stores more now. They like to come in and see some of the same faces and get help,” Tashman said. “They really enjoy coming to the store and feeling empowered to do it themselves. And that is what we tell people: it is a lot cheaper to do it yourself. Most of the time, they can.