Mark Yamayoshi has made a sizeable investment in reopening the Ace Hardware store in Ceres and he’s hoping to see customers return to support the business.

The former Richland Ace Hardware was closed in 2025 by Rob Nelson but Yamayoshi, who owns Ace Hardware stores in Newman and Patterson, decided to make a go of it rebranded as Ceres Ace Hardware. The business re-opened Sunday, March 15 in the same Richland Shopping Center space as before.

Yamayoshi said he was contacted by Nelson when the store closed but initially he wasn’t interested. He was encouraged by the fact that the Pallios family that owns the Richland Shopping Center wanted to see the building remain as a hardware store.

The store has hired eight employees and may keep those numbers small until business picks up and more staff is justified.

The store has opened with a respectable amount of stock, including power tools, paint and paint supplies, barbecue grills, electric blowers, outdoor power tools and manual tools, chainsaws, tools, automotive section, housewares, plumbing and electric supplies, mailboxes, light bulbs, plastic storage tubs, moving boxes, gardening supplies and much more.

“We still have more products coming in,” he said.

The store is an authorized dealer for Stihl, Benjamin Moore paint, Forney welding supplies, Milwaukee, Dewalt tools, EGO, Craftsman and barbecue brands of Traeger and Big Green Egg and more.

As part of the ACE Hardware chain, the new store offers business charge accounts.

Yamayoshi expects to have a grand opening in April with a date yet to be set.

Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m.to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.