Meet Smokey, Ace Hardware’s mew-est employee

Born in the garden department last spring, Smokey is the newest and fuzziest employee at Karsten’s Ace Hardware in Maricopa.

The one-year-old gray cat walked into the store last fall and declared it his new home, said store supervisor Ashley Cross.

“It was about four or five months ago he decided we could pet him,” she said. “Now, he lives here full-time and goes outside whenever he wants. We have people coming in just to see him.”

Customers can often find Smokey snoozing on merchandise, curled up on the paint counter or even patrolling the aisles. He’s taken to his role as top cat in the store by greeting customers, keeping the pest population under control or even jumping into shopping carts for a quick ride around the store.

“Smokey is just a very loving cat,” she said. “He loves to nap, he loves to greet people and he is usually front and center so he can see what’s going on.”

In addition to growing his Instagram presence and being the store’s chief mouser, he also serves as an emotional support cat for employees.

“We call it a ‘smoke break’ to go pet the cat,” Cross said. “If you get a little tense dealing with a difficult customer or you’re having a bad day, we say, ‘I need a smoke break.’ You spend five minutes with the cat, and you feel better.”

Smokey isn’t Ace Hardware’s first store cat.

Other neighborhood strays have graced the store’s social media posts over the years, often found sleeping on shelves or sauntering the aisles. Cross said this included an orange tabby named OJ who lived in the store for about three years until he succumbed to feline leukemia in 2022.

Smokey entered the store almost a year later and has been a great addition, according to Cross.

“He’s a great team member and is just as spoiled as can be,” she said. “Everyone here loves him, and we love our ‘smoke breaks.’ He gets all the love.”