The Hardware Store Name Highlands Knew in the 1980s Is Back on Cashiers Road

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  November 5, 2026

Derek Taylor's father once ran Highlands Hardware out of the building that now houses 4118 Kitchen + Bar, with the lumber yard out back. On Monday, November 2, Taylor brought that name back with a new store at 3824 Cashiers Road, right next to the Dollar General in Highlands.

The building covers roughly 28,000 square feet on two levels, and Taylor is clear about who it is for. Contractors buying lumber, doors and windows get one half. The person who needs a part for a weekend repair, or as Taylor puts it, "maybe picking up a fishing pole for the grandkids and some snacks to go out on a Saturday," gets the other.

How is the new store connected to the original Highlands Hardware?

The original business dates to about 1983, when Mike Bryson started it. Taylor's father bought it from Bryson and eventually left the business. Taylor later took on the doors-and-windows side himself for a time, then sold it.

He describes coming back to hardware and lumber as "full circle." One point needs to be clear, though. This is a new company at a new site, not a relocation of the old operation.

The old Highlands connections go beyond the name. Futral Enterprises served as general contractor on the building, and Taylor's doors-and-windows business had been supplying Futral projects long before this one. Bryson's Grading handled the sitework. Taylor pointed out the connection himself: "My father used to run Highlands Hardware, and he bought it from Mike Bryson, and Bryson's Grading is helping do this job."

"It's kind of neat that all these old Highlands families are still working together," Taylor says.

What does Highlands Hardware & Lumber Co. sell?

It is a full hardware store and lumber yard. As of an August site visit, plans also called for a full hardware and paint store. Below the retail floor sits about 14,000 square feet of storage, giving the building-materials side room beyond what customers see upstairs.

For contractors, the company supplies lumber, windows and doors for larger jobs, and the August plans extended the building-materials side into framing lumber and engineered wood, siding, roofing and jobsite delivery. The store is a member of Do it Best, the Fort Wayne, Indiana cooperative of independent hardware and lumber retailers that acquired True Value in November 2024. Membership gives Taylor access to the cooperative's warehouses and collective buying power. "We can order railroad cars of lumber through Do it Best," he says.

There is also a food truck. El Guacamole Loco is on site, and the company says it is a permanent addition.

Will someone actually answer the phone?

That is the part Taylor leads with when he talks about service. "You're not going to get an automated system. You're going to be able to talk to somebody," he says. A bookkeeping problem gets the bookkeeping department, not a menu tree.

He expects the people answering to be people from the area, people customers already know. He calls it "from our family to your family." The number is (828) 482-5000, and the store is online at highlandshardware.com and @highlandshardware on Instagram.

Meadows Mountain Realty first reported this story and published it as part of its ELEVATE field guide. You can read the original at https://meadowsmountainrealty.com/highlands-hardware-lumber-co-highlands-nc/.

If a lumber yard opening in Highlands has you picturing a project of your own somewhere in these mountains, Jon Tharp is glad to talk it through whenever you are ready.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Highlands Hardware & Lumber Co. located?

The store is at 3824 Cashiers Road in Highlands, NC, next to the Dollar General. The phone number is (828) 482-5000, and the company is online at highlandshardware.com and @highlandshardware on Instagram.

Is the new Highlands Hardware the same as the original store?

No. The original Highlands Hardware dates to about 1983, when Mike Bryson started it, and Derek Taylor's father later bought it. That store sat in the building that now houses 4118 Kitchen + Bar. The store on Cashiers Road is a new company at a new site, not a relocation.

What does Highlands Hardware & Lumber Co. sell?

It is a full hardware store and lumber yard. As of an August site visit, plans also called for a full hardware and paint store, plus framing lumber, engineered wood, siding, roofing, doors and windows, with jobsite delivery. The El Guacamole Loco food truck is on site, and the company says it is a permanent addition.