Ayers Variety & Hardware
A distinctive part of the Arlington business landscape
A popular 75-year-old store specializes in everything from screws to toys to lawn decorations to fishing line. If you need something you can probably find it at Ayers.
Ayers Variety & Hardware in Westover is a unique store; its specialty is everything. From screws to toys to lawn decorations to fishing lines, if you need it, you can probably find it at Ayers. Ayers Hardware, as it is known to locals, was established by John W. Ayers, a World War II veteran from Georgia. He relocated to the Washington area in 1924 while working for Woolworths (a chain of general-merchandise retail stores) and opened J. W. Ayers Five and Ten Cents Store in 1948.
Ayers was known as the Mayor of Westover, handing out candy to neighborhood children, providing materials to classrooms in nearby elementary and middle schools, and becoming active in several civic groups in Arlington such as the Kiwanis Club and the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. He was active in the community, working for sidewalks and streetlights and overseeing the Westover Christmas tree, Halloween dances, and “Westover Days.” Ayers was a lynchpin of the community even after he turned over the store to his 32 employees in a profit-sharing plan in 1968.
Born on December 9, 1902, John Wesley Ayers was from Marietta, Georgia, one of 13 children of a Baptist minister. Ayers opened his Westover store in 1948 and operated it until his death in 1976. He quickly became active and involved in the affairs of the neighborhood. He distributed candy to the nearby public and parochial elementary schools just before Halloween, Christmas, and Easter, becoming known to Arlington school children as "the Candy Man." But his involvement went beyond candy distribution. He supported the Reed School PTA, the local Boy Scout troop, the Westover Baptist Church, and the Salvation Army fund drives. He served as president of the Westover Businessmen's Association and was named "Retailer of the Year" by the Virginia Retail Merchant Association in 1965. Along the way, he acquired the nickname of the "Mayor" of Westover. He entered merchandising and retailing at an early age. At seventeen, he became a stock clerk with Woolworths in Atlanta. He advanced rapidly and, in 1924, was chosen to manage a Woolworths store in Richmond.
He left retail in 1942 to join the Army. Commissioned an officer, he served in Hawaii and saw action in Okinawa. After the war, he opened his Westover store on Washington Boulevard in 1948. He belonged to and supported all the local organizations, including the Kiwanis Club, the Westover Businessmen's Association, the American Legion, the Masonic Temple, and the Westover Baptist Church. He supported the Arlington Boy Scouts and helped organize 9 troops in the County. He chaired fund drives for the March of Dimes and the Heart Fund, as well as a building fund campaign for the Salvation Army. He organized street dances on Washington Boulevard for "Westover Days" in July and Halloween. He lobbied for sidewalks, street lights, and other improvements for Westover. He started a profit-sharing plan for his employees and let them participate in the management of the store. He had a training program for high school students who worked from 6 to 9 weekdays and a half-day on Saturdays. He was proud that eighty percent of these students went to college. He financed a higher education for "an untold number" of Westover young people.
John Ayers died of a heart attack on August 30, 1976. Many were worried that when Ayers died in 1976, the store would disappear, and the community spirit of Westover would fade. However, the Kaplan family bought Ayers Variety & Hardware in 1977 from the Ayers estate and has continued to stock its shelves with quirky and practical items at good prices. It still serves as an anchor for the small stretch of stores on Washington Boulevard near Walter Reed School and is a distinctive part of the Arlington business landscape.
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