Ace Hardware operator behind Chase Ace files for Chapter 11, highlighting pressure on smaller hardware chains

A smaller hardware chain operating under the Ace Hardware banner has filed for Chapter 11 protection, underscoring how a soft housing market and cautious consumer spending are taking a toll on neighborhood retailers competing with big-box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s.

According to a report published by TheStreet, D&D Venture Group Inc., the operator of the Chase Ace Hardware chain and Sprig Home & Garden stores in Northern California, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its businesses. The filing was submitted as a Subchapter V petition, in Case No. 26-30496, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco on June 4. Court paperwork listed $1 million to $10 million in assets and liabilities, and it did not specify a particular reason for the bankruptcy filing in the petition.

The filing also detailed a slate of major creditors. The largest listed creditor was Fremont Bank, with an amount owed of more than $1.05 million. Other creditors named in the report included the Internal Revenue Service, California’s Employment Development Department, Wells Fargo SBL, and several business entities, with claims ranging from the low hundreds of thousands to more than $1 million.

The operator’s footprint described in the report includes Chase Ace Hardware locations in San Rafael, Santa Rosa, and Pacifica, California. The report also said the company operates Sprig Home & Garden stores in Santa Rosa and San Rafael. Chase Ace Hardware sells mainstream hardware and home improvement brands, including Craftsman, DeWalt, Toro, Weber grills, and Benjamin Moore paints.

Sprig Home & Garden, founded in 2016 by three friends, is positioned more toward home decor and lifestyle merchandise, including plants, candles, books and stationery, and a category that spans accessories and wellness items, according to the report. In practice, that blend of utilitarian hardware categories and discretionary home goods can be sensitive to whether consumers decide to refresh or renovate, rather than only replace essentials.

The bankruptcy comes as Home Depot has pointed to ongoing pressures tied to housing. In its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2025 results, Home Depot said sales for the fourth quarter were $38.2 billion, down 3.8% from the prior year period. The company also cited “consumer uncertainty and pressure in housing,” while noting that underlying demand was relatively stable when adjusting for storm activity. Home Depot’s fiscal 2026 guidance, provided with those results, called for comparable sales growth of approximately flat to 2.0%, along with total sales growth of roughly 2.5% to 4.5%.

While Home Depot’s scale and distribution reach can help it absorb downturns, the same macro pressures often hit smaller chains harder because they typically have fewer levers to defend revenue and gross margin. TheStreet’s report also cited other recent distress in the hardware and home improvement space, including a separate bankruptcy by a home improvement retailer that operated in partnership with Home Depot-branded showrooms.

For now, key details remain unclear. The Chapter 11 petition described in the report did not lay out a specific explanation for the filing, and the report did not describe what D&D Venture Group’s court-approved reorganization plan will look like, whether store closures are expected, or how creditors will be treated. Subchapter V proceedings generally focus on reorganizing and negotiating with creditors, but the timing and outcome of those negotiations will be determined through the court process.