One of Beverly Hills’ oldest small businesses could close after receiving a proposed rent increase from the city.
Pioneer Hardware, the century-old business that has been in a city-owned building at 333 N. Crescent Drive since 1983, was notified that a 10% rent increase will take effect in 2027, owner Jeff Tilem told the Courier. The rent, which is currently $7,271.08 per month, would increase by $741.12 starting in 2027 and then increase by 3% each year thereafter under the new five-year proposal. The proposal is more than any previous rental increase, and Tilem said it would force the store to close at the end of 2026.
“This is a city resource for the people that live here,” said Tilem. “When it rains, and water is coming in your house and you need [materials], you don’t want to go online and wait for it to be delivered. You want to go get it and have it. Or you’re 75 years old and something’s not working, and you want it to be fixed. You bring it to us, and we fix it. That can’t be replicated.”
Bonnie Fleming, who has shopped at the store for years out of convenience, said the store fulfills a variety of needs for her. If she needs a flashlight after an earthquake, or help assembling toys for her grandkids, or a new cutting board for Thanksgiving and does not want to drive far, Fleming goes to Pioneer Hardware.
“I go in there for anything,” she said. “My daughter, she said, ‘I’ve got to go over to Mercedes to get my round battery for my key.’ And I said, ‘Go over to Pioneer Hardware. Ask for Ryan. You will get your little battery; he will put it in your key, and it’s done.’”
Roberta Magid, who has shopped at Pioneer Hardware since 1968, said the store’s handymen services have been essential for her.
“I have a problem, and they have handymen here—all terrific, really nice,” she said. “I was worried about coyotes, because I live in the hills, so I called up, and they sent somebody and put a gate up. It feels like a little small community again. This is the only store where you feel that way.”
Magid said that Pioneer Hardware is one of the last small, neighborhood-oriented businesses in the city.
“It’s like a small town on this one block, and they’re taking it away,” she said. “They want to take away something that means so much to so many people. For what, a few dollars?”
In addition to the rent increase, Tilem told the Courier that his business has suffered since August, when the city installed a Throne Lab portable bathroom in the adjacent parking structure. Not only has that brought the smell of human waste, but the toilets frequently leak, causing customers to say they will not return while the bathroom is there. Tilem said that the city has also failed to fix stock room walls in the back of his store that continuously leak, and damage merchandise every time it rains.
In a written response to Tilem’s concerns, the city took the position that the rental increase is reasonable. It noted that Pioneer Hardware currently pays less rent per month than it did in 1988, and the increase will “still be well below today’s fair-market value.” The increase will bring their rent to a price-per-square-foot basis of an amount similar to the next-door Beverly Hills Market, approximately $1.90 per square foot, said Lauren Santillana, public information manager of the city of Beverly Hills.
“Today, Pioneer Hardware pays less rent than they did 37 years ago,” Santillana said. “The city has regularly held rent flat and reduced rent several times over their 42 years. All things considered, the city’s proposed increase is modest, and Pioneer has until 2027 to plan for it.”
Santillana also said that the Throne Lab bathroom has decreased incidents of homeless people relieving themselves in a nearby stairwell, and the city plans to further extend ventilation following customer and tenant complaints. The city is also considering more extensive repairs for the store’s stock room walls, Santillana added.
She added, “The city and the community value having a locally owned hardware store that might not be possible at current market rents.”
