You don’t find many stores like Bering’s these days. A Houston landmark where three generations of Bering family members have run the till, it’s not just unique in its offerings: Baccarat wine coasters alongside Big Green Eggs, hand-smocked baby dresses a few aisles away from Turtlebox Audio speakers. At the one-of-a-kind hardware store, you can buy the best gardening tools, door handles, showerheads, screws—you name it—along with designer apparel, gourmet foods, and exquisite stationery. But it’s also a place that operates out of another time, with a full-service shopping experience that’s all but extinct.
Where other family-owned department stores floundered with the arrival of big-box chains, Bering’s has survived thanks to a commitment to offering the finest products and a customer service approach rooted in Southern hospitality and good manners. Founder August C. Bering III’s dedication to maintaining close customer and vendor ties is still the focus under current CEO Augie Bering V—his grandson—eighty-three years after the flagship store opened.
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When Bering III began the business in 1940, it was a do-it-yourself hardware store, but the pioneering entrepreneur saw potential in expanding to an assortment of offerings, adding a gift shop in 1971. As Bering’s transitioned, its ethos stayed the same: to provide the best customer service anywhere.
In an era of fast fashion and virtual shopping, entering this treasure box is a pleasant surprise. Staffers—many of whom have been with the company for more than a decade—offer a warm welcome whether a customer needs decorative knobs or is in search of a thoughtful dinner party surcee. For many brides and grooms, Bering’s provides an opportunity to register for a china pattern in the same store their parents and even grandparents did. And when a baby comes along, naturally, Bering’s offers registries for parents-to-be too.
A modern general store in every sense of the word, Bering’s is there for each moment and milestone: a Saturday afternoon of yard work with Bering’s-purchased hedge shears; a game-day tailgate with refreshments in a Yeti cooler from Bering’s; or a baptism made all the more special with the gift of a Waterford crystal cross from the store.
That’s what has made this iconic business Houston’s most-loved one-stop shop. Today, Bering’s has two stores in the city as well as an e-commerce site that serves the community and beyond. The inventory may have changed since it first opened as a hardware shop in 1940, but the legacy of thoughtfully crafted products and exceptional customer service remains.
Discover the enduring appeal of Bering’s at Berings.com
