Landmark Company Sold in ESOP Deal: Clark-Devon Now Employee Owned

After 99 years and three generations of family ownership, Clark-Devon Hardware Co., Inc, Chicago’s largest independent hardware store located at 6401 N Clark Street, has been sold. Its new owners are the 65 people who work there.

Meet the New Owners of Clark Devon Hardware - photo — **Meet the New Owners of Clark Devon**: Hardware Taking a moment to pose during a busy day at Clark-Devon Hardware are the former owners Ed and Ken Walchak [Front Row L-R] with managers Jay Fuentes and (Back Row L-R) Bob Barkmeyer, incoming CEO Xan (Sean) Flink, Brane Bijelic, Sine Somerville and Steve Lev. The Walchak brothers feel confident in handing over the leadership of this renowned family business to this seasoned Clark-Devon management team that has helped build the business over the years. *Photo credit: Stephen Serio*

As its century celebration nears, co-owners and brothers Ken and Ed Walchak, who have headed the growth of this Chicago icon for the past 50 years, chose to sell the company to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

“We wanted the business that our father and grandfather built and nurtured to continue while maintaining the reputation, the culture and the commitment to the community and our customers that they taught us,” explains Ed Walchak in making the ownership announcement. “We found the structure of an ESOP was the best way to reward the people who helped us build the business, thus helping create personal wealth while ensuring the long term success of the company.”

The management team transitioning Clark-Devon Hardware from family-owned to ESOP - photo — **The management team transitioning Clark-Devon Hardware from family-owned to ESOP**: The ‘key’ to the future of this third generation family-owned business is to sell it to the people who helped build it. Clark-Devon Hardware’s seasoned management team join 59 fellow employees as the new owners of the business based on a recent ESOP sale. They are: (Front Row L-R) Jay Fuentes, CEO Xan (Sean) Flink, Bob Barkmeyer (Back row L-R) Brane Bijelic, Sine Somerville and Steve Lev. *Photo credit: Stephen Serio*

Clark-Devon Hardware is now 100 percent employee owned with all the benefits of ownership accruing to its employees, many of whom have been with the company for decades. “We are grateful Ken and Ed considered an ESOP for passing the baton of this amazing business which has built its great reputation for decades” said Xan Flink, the new CEO. “I hope our stewardship honors them and their family.”

Passing the Baton - photo — **Passing the Baton**: Going from family-owned to employee-owned (ESOP) changes up the business model for long-established Clark-Devon Hardware store. Third generation co-owners Ken Walchak, (left) and Ed Walchak (right) pass the baton to newly named Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Xan Flink [Sean] who now oversees the new Clark-Devon where every employee holds a vested interest in the success of the business. *Photo credit: Stephen Serio*

The Clark-Devon Clock - photo — **The Clark-Devon Clock**: The landmark ‘Hardware Clock’ on Clark-Devon Hardware’s southwest facade has been watching over the corner of Clark St. and Devon Ave., where Rogers Park meets Edgewater, for the past 16 years. In that short time, it has become a neighborhood and a city icon. Current co-owners and brothers Ken and Ed Walchak guided the design and construction of the huge clock, which weighs in at 1.5 tons, as a gift to the community that helped them build and sustain their family-owned business over three generations. With its crescent wrench arms and giant bolts at the 5-minute marks, the night-lighted clock will continue to mark time as Clark-Devon Hardware soon begins its second 100 years as an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). *Photo credit: Stephen Serio*

With this transition, Clark-Devon’s new employee-owners will join about 14 million employee-owners nationwide in 7,000 companies. Clark-Devon becomes one of only 300 ESOPs in Illinois and one of just a handful that operate in the retail space.

About Clark-Devon Hardware

Clark-Devon Hardware, located at the corner of Clark St. and Devon Ave. on Chicago’s north side, has been an important part of the Rogers Park community since 1924. The ‘Hardware Clock’ has graced the corner of the building since 2007 and has become an iconic symbol of the neighborhood. Clark-Devon has built an enviable reputation over the years by consistently providing high quality service and expert advice to every person who steps into the store and is a member of the co-op Do it Best. Its knowledgeable, experienced and friendly staff have helped it grow from a small neighborhood store to Chicago’s largest independent hardware store and a major provider of property maintenance supplies throughout metropolitan Chicago.

The new employee-owned Clark-Devon Hardware will continue the culture of outstanding service to customers and community that the Walchak family founded so many years ago. Please visit www.clarkdevon.com to learn more about their vast array of services.

Contacts:

Aviva Plummer – ap@clarkdevon.com – (847) 951-8482

Xan Flink (Sean) – ap@clarkdevon.com – (773) 764-3575

Source: Clark-Devon Hardware Co., Inc.

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