{"id":350816,"date":"2026-06-07T19:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T19:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/350816\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T19:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T19:14:15","slug":"fresno-ag-hardware-marks-150-years-with-community-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/350816\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno Ag Hardware marks 150 years with community focus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uniquely is a Fresno Bee series<\/a> that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Fresno area so special.<\/p>\n

Fresno Ag Hardware<\/a> has been around so long that Patrick Marchese has to ask for clarification when he runs into someone who remembers going to the \u201cold store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most often, they\u2019re remembering the flagship location, which opened on Blackstone Avenue at Gettysburg in 1968, back when that part of town was still considered north Fresno.<\/p>\n

That store operated for 40 years before leasing troubles forced its relocation to a spot just up Gettysburg Avenue in 2008.<\/p>\n

But those closer to Marchese in age (he\u2019s 72), may have memories of the other Fresno Ag Hardware store.<\/p>\n

That one opened the decade prior at Blackstone and Princeton avenues, just across from Lafayette Elementary. That\u2019s where Marchese went to school. He could see the store from across the yard and would point it out with pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my dad\u2019s store,\u201d he\u2019d say.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s his store now.<\/p>\n

Or partly, at least. Marchese is a minority owner, along with his sister Michelle Williams, whose son Ian Williams works as the company\u2019s chief operating officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly a family business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fresno Fresno Ag’s chief operations manager Ian Williams, left, with co-owners and siblings Michelle WIlliams, center and Pat Marchese, right, Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com 150 years of Fresno Ag<\/p>\n

Of course, Fresno Ag had been operating for a half-century before Marchese\u2019s father, John Rosetta, even came into the picture.<\/p>\n

The business started as Fresno Agricultural Works in 1876 and was famously responsible for creating, and then cranking out, the Fresno scraper, a horse-drawn proto-bulldozer<\/a> that revolutionized agriculture, among other things. Along with digging ditches for the Valley\u2019s irrigation systems, the Fresno scraper was used to dig trenches in World War I and even helped build the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n

At one point, Fresno Agricultural Works took up nearly a full city block near Tulare and L streets.<\/p>\n

Rosetta was hired as a janitor after returning home from World War II; the only work he could get. But he spent the next decade learning everything he could about the business, so that when he eventually took over it was \u201ca dollar down and a handshake and John Rosetta was now the proud owner of the hardware division of Fresno Agricultural Works,\u201d says Rosetta\u2019s grandson, Ian Williams.<\/p>\n

Rosetta relocated the store from downtown in 1953, renamed it Fresno Ag Hardware, and brought on his brother James Rosetta as a co-owner.<\/a><\/p>\n

Together, the pair turned the equipment manufacturer-hardware store into an institution.<\/p>\n

It is the oldest continually operating business in Fresno \u2014 150 this month, which the store is celebrating with an Anniversary Bucket Sale, June 5-7 at both its Fresno and Clovis locations.<\/p>\n

Customers can fill a five-gallon bucket (with anything that fits) and get 25% off (any regularly priced items).<\/p>\n

\u201cOne-hundred-and-fifty years is not just a milestone,\u201d according to Williams. \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to the loyalty of our customers and the dedication of every team member who has ever walked through our door. This community built us, and we are proud to keep serving it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A one-stop shop for just about anything<\/p>\n

On any given day, you\u2019ll still find a line of people queued up for a bag of free popcorn; a nostalgic holdover from the original store.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll still hear the grinding whir of keys being made, the ringing of some random phone and staff members, (some of whom have worked at the store longer than Williams has been alive) asking customers if they can be of any help.<\/p>\n

\"Free Free popcorn has always been a favorite of shoppers at Fresno Ag, photographed Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

And you\u2019ll still find the store stocked with \u2026 just about anything.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Fresno Ag earned a reputation for having products no one else did.<\/p>\n

Yes, there was the odd-shaped pipe fitting and obscure-sized nuts and bolts, which were stocked loose in hundreds of bins. But the store also became known for its random gifts and housewares. Think: Coca-Cola napkin dispensers, dust pans with the John Deere logo, a Superman lunch box.<\/p>\n

Williams estimates there are now 80,000 different SKU\u2019s (or individual products) in Fresno Ag\u2019s current flagship store.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s everything from fishing tackle, hunting gear, guns and ammo, to the staples of every day carry, (<\/a>things like tactical flashlights and folding knives). There\u2019s a full section for work clothes (Carhartt pants, jackets and the like), plus aisles for cleaning supplies, home goods and power tools.<\/p>\n

Fresno Ag is a certified Stihl dealer<\/a> and expanded its service department with technicians capable of working on two and four-stroke engines for chainsaws and weed eaters.<\/p>\n

The store also finds and follows trends, by listening, and being receptive to its customers, Williams says.<\/p>\n

It recently began stocking NeeDoh squeeze toys<\/a>, which surprised Williams in its popularity among parents. There\u2019s also the decorative porch geese statues, and accompanying costumes, which tend to sell as fast as the store can get them in stock, William says, though there was a gaggle of them near the patio section just off the front door last week.<\/p>\n

\"Decorative Decorative porch geese are presented for sale at Fresno Ag, photographed Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Fresno. Fresno Ag will be celebrating its 150 years in business. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lavender-lit aisle with a variety of indoor plants (a trend that hit during the pandemic<\/a>) and two freezers at the front of the store that carry homemade pies and Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls, the latter of which was, at one point, the single best-selling item in the store, Williams says.<\/p>\n

The entire back section of Fresno Ag is dedicated to \u201chome preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a word Williams chooses deliberately to differentiate the store from other big box retailers who deal with contractors and the like.<\/p>\n

\u201cToilets are always going to leak,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is always a screw that is going to come loose.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the core of the business. But that can be a gateway to something more, especially when his staff can engage directly with customers.<\/p>\n

In that way, Fresno Ag Hardware is as much a philosophy, as anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we make Fresno a better place?\u201d Williams ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do that by empowering people.\u201d<\/p>\n

And by reinvesting money back into the business, \u201cto open up more stores, to serve more people.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, the company saw its first expansion outside of Fresno when it opened a 10,000-square-foot \u201cbite-sized\u201d store<\/a> at the Trading Post shopping center in Clovis. Williams says that\u2019s how he sees the business moving forward and that\u2019s he\u2019d like to open another five new stores over the next 15 years.<\/p>\n

\"Fresno Fresno Ag will be celebrating its 150th anniversary in business. Photographed Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, writing on a wide range of topics from police, politics and weather, to arts and entertainment in the Central Valley.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Uniquely is a Fresno Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-350816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}