This last week, long time Warrenton resident and builder Kenny Culp of Culp and Sons, aka C&S Builders, took over the old Warrenton Builders Supply building.
Culp will be leasing the building to house his construction business and he eventually hopes to reopen the hardware store that once was the mainstay for many contractors and do it yourself’ers.
The original Warrenton Builders Supply was started by Dick Walter in 1968 and closed down shortly after Dick passed away in 2009. Although the store was affected some by Home Depot’s arrival in area a few years prior to his death, many locals continued to patronize the store, preferring to keep business in local hands. Dick was the heart and soul of the operation.
Culp, who himself has been in construction for almost 50 years with his father, Jim, now continues the construction legacy with his son Matthew. They were long time clients of Warrenton Builders Supply and good friends with Dick.
Ken Culp, says “The plan is to move our construction business from our small “garage” size building we are currently in and re-establish that portion in the WBS building and as we get more organized, we plan to eventually bring back the hardware store. We are in no hurry and want to get the C&S Builders well established in the new space and then we will turn our attention to the hardware store. I will spend more time in the office, my wife Teresa will do the bookkeeping, but I will still be heavily involved in the construction end no matter what.”
Photos of the interior give the impression that time has stood still for the last 10 years with much of the inventory still in place after it closed down. Culp intends to take an inventory or what is usable and what they don’t need and reorganize it all.
The WBS has a lot of space and C & S Builders hope to sublet some of the commercial space to others. Culp says they are interested in talking with anyone who might be interested. Give’em a call.
