By Madison Lucchesi

Woodside ACE Hardware, a central element of Winthrop and its business community, has closed after 94 years in business.

The store and its greeting sign have long been a familiar welcoming point at the main entry to Winthrop. Its closure marks a key transition for a town that struggles to expand its business community and define the degree to which private enterprise is welcomed and shaped.

The owner of Woodside ACE Hardware, Lauren Murphy, long understood to be facing health issues, declined to comment on the matter as she packed up the building this past week. Ms Murphy is a longtime employee who took ownership from Paul Levy when he retired in 2021.

Its closure, leaving one other hardware store in the southern part of Winthrop, comes as the gift shop Robin’s Nest in the center of town is preparing to shutter after 10 years in business. Another leading business, Drop Zone Brewery, closed last summer, highlighting for residents and town officials the question of what if anything should be done to expand a small business community that consists heavily of restaurants.

Sad moment

The executive director of the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce, Diana Aliberti, offered a sorrowful assessment of the hardware store’s closure. “It always saddens us greatly to see a local business close, especially after faithfully serving the community for many years,” Ms Aliberti said.

Business leaders have generally offered mixed assessments of the town’s attitude toward private enterprise, describing an overall improvement in public support combined with an overall strategy that seems less clear.

The owner of Robin’s Nest, Robin McSorley, declined an interview on the matter, after posting a video to social media saying she was “making way for that next generation of entrepreneurs who are going to step in and bring new energy and new ideas to our community.”

“The universe told me that it might be time to take on a new adventure,” she said in the video. “As wonderful and amazing and fabulous as these last 10 years have been, it’s time for me to close the page on this one.”

Challenging process

The owner of Drop Zone, Jason Karge, had a blunter assessment. Drop Zone closed in June 2025 after three years in business, citing low foot traffic and competition from the town’s private clubs as the reasons for closing.

Winthrop’s Board of License Commission and its Town Council were very helpful, Mr Karge said, as he navigated getting permits for the town’s first brewery. But after opening, Mr Karge said he came to believe that the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce doesn’t “really support businesses as much as they think they do.”

In an effort to promote his business, he suggested that he and two other business owners oversee an events calendar on the chamber’s website, and he proposed running a shuttle service from the Winthrop ferry landing to major points in town to promote tourism. Both ideas were rejected, Mr Karge said.

Difficulties and optimism

“It takes a long time to get an established business here,” Mr Karge said in an interview.

Amid the closings, Winthrop also is seeing some rebirth. Matt’s Curiosity Shoppe opened in the last few weeks on Crest Avenue, offering to both buy and sell antiques and collectibles. It is owned jointly by longtime resident Karla Murphy and her son, Matt, who sought a better career opportunity after trying jobs at conventional retail stores that promised roles for workers with disabilities.

Ms Murphy, chair of the Winthrop Commission on Disabilities, offered effusive praise for the people of Winthrop and its government in welcoming the shop, though she suggested the town still might need a more ambitious overall strategy to match its potential.

Helpful to businesses

“Did we have a hard time?” she said, referring to the process of opening the shop with her son. “No, we didn’t. We really didn’t. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, now you have get this fixed, and now this, and now that.’ From the landlord to the Town Hall to the sign permit, everything went without a hitch.”

“I found everybody so pleasant – from getting permits to inspections, people were willing to help,” she said.

But that’s not how Winthrop felt in the recent past, Ms Murphy said. “Maybe 10 years ago, 12 years ago, it was very difficult,” she said. “I heard some people couldn’t even get their business off the ground – it was a very different environment.”

Bigger ambitions

And with restaurants playing a central role in Winthrop’s business community, even more change might still be necessary, Ms Murphy said.

“The more stores that go up, the more shops that attract people, the restaurants will do better, and it will be a thriving community,” she said. “Right now, it’s not – it’s just a lot of condos and a lot of hair salons and nail salons. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but people want something different, they’re wondering why we can’t be like a Marblehead or a Salem or a Rockport. And granted there’s a size issue – we’re very small – but we could make it a cute little seaside town, and very welcoming, and just fun to visit for a day.”

“We live by the ocean, we’re prime real estate, we live right outside of Boston, we have easy access to the North Shore – why isn’t it thriving more?” Ms Murphy said.

“People want to see businesses succeed, especially something different, something fun, something that elevates the entire community,” she said.