Our History

The History of Dieruf Hardware

Dieruf Hardware was first opened by Bill Dieruf, Jr on Watterson Trail in Jeffersontown, KY. After Bill returned home from WWII, where he proudly served in the Army as a Captain, he made his dream of opening his own business come true. Living in the apartment above the store with his wife Adele, Bill opened “the store that confidence built” in June of 1946.

Dieruf Hardware was one of the first businesses in Jeffersontown to sell washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions. Bill Jr would fill every refrigerator with food when he sold them as a thank you for making this purchase with him. Business was going well & while on vacation at the beach with his wife, Bill told her that when he gets back he is going to move the hardware store. She simply responded that “he had been in the sun too long.” In 1977, the hardware store was moved to its current location on 9608 Taylorsville Rd in Jeffersontown.

Bill Jr built the hardware store with the help of his son Bill III who still has very fond memories of digging the footer for the building with a shovel in hand. All the digging paid off as Bill III took over the hardware store from his Dad in 1985.

Bill transformed Dieruf Hardware to a completely remodeled Dieruf Do It Best Hardware & Rental Center, adding one of the first tool & equipment rental stores in Jeffersontown.

Bill III, his wife Jody, and their daughter Jennifer, proudly owned “the oldest family owned business in Jeffersontown” until his daughter Jennifer and his son-in-law Ben Smith, took over the business in 2014.

Ben originally planned to be a police officer like his Dad, who has worked for the Louisville and Oldham County Police Departments. Some of Ben’s favorite things to do as a kid were to go to different hardware stores with his dad & help him with any projects he was working on around the house. So, when the opportunity came to work for Dieruf Hardware he had found his calling. Through his first six years at the store he learned from Bill III & Bill Jr, and has continued the family-owned tradition as owner with his wife Jennifer and two sons Lucas & Carter.