Pete Kelly
of Lunt and Kelly Hardware
By Kathleen Downey
Pete Kelly
Pete Kelly, proprietor of Lunt & Kelly Hardware, remembers the old, frayed jacket that his father would wear each day while waiting on the famed hardware store’s customers. “Dad, why do you wear that?” Kelly recalls asking his father. “If I wore a jacket that was new and snappy, I wouldn’t feel humble. I’d feel pretentious,” the senior Kelly told his young son.
Wearing a pale-green short-sleeved summer shirt, modestly dressed-up with a tie (which the pen in his breast pocket only slightly mocked), Pete Kelly is both unpretentious and humble as he talks about the store, about family, and about community. For Kelly the three not only intersect, they meld.
Both a family and a community institution, Lunt & Kelly has served Newburyport citizens for the past 65 years. Founded by Kelly’s father, Edward Kelly, and the senior Kelly’s partner Malcolm Lunt, Pete Kelly first stuck his toes into the business while a student at the University of New Hampshire. “My father asked me if I’d help out a bit, so I did,” he states simply. Kelly ultimately earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and went on to explore various careers. His past pursuits include a stint as a civilian employee at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, a computer services consultant, and an on-air personality for local radio station WNBP.
“But when Malcolm Lunt retired, my father asked me if I’d help him out in the store full time.” Kelly pauses, reflecting on his pivotal decision, which came with a condition. “I told my dad, ‘Okay, but I can only give you a couple of years.’” He laughs at his naivety and at his imposed timeline. “But of course,” Kelly says, “the business grew on me. I liked the idea of being my own boss, and I liked the idea of being here for my community. And the rest . . . is history.”
Kelly’s delight with the way history has turned out is etched on his face, evident by the wide smile he is unable to suppress as he tells his story of ending up at the helm of the family business. He beams and his eyes sparkle when he shares that his two daughters, Kate and Lisa, have joined him. “They were inspired by their dad’s entrepreneurial spirit,” he jokes, self-deprecatingly. Kelly’s wife Cheryl Ann also helps out in the store. “The ability to perpetuate the family business is very rewarding,” Kelly says, which for the last 12 years also includes the adjacent Taylor Rental business.
He explains the store’s affiliation with the True Value Company. “As an independent hardware cooperative with True Value, I have more buying power for store wares, and I can pass the savings on to my customers in the community.” Kelly adds that being genuinely involved and staying connected with the Newburyport community is imperative. “Community is the foundation of Lunt and Kelly,” he states. Kelly regards the opportunity to closely interact with his customers as a daily highlight. “My mantra is this: connect with my customers, take care of my customers, customize the store to what my community needs, and create a pleasant atmosphere,” Kelly shares.
Kelly shares that his store has become not only a community anchor where customers can find their hardware and home needs, they can sometimes find (or rediscover) one another. “I watched two customers ‘bump into one another’ in the store one day,” Kelly remembers. From their conversation, Kelly says that he could tell that the two had not seen one another for quite some time. The customers used their unexpected hardware encounter to catch up. “They talked awhile, then gave each other a hug before they left,” Kelly recalls.
Happy to perpetuate the niche that his multigenerational hardware store occupies in the community, Kelly says, “I feel a lot of pride, but I don’t rest on that. I continue to work hard. Integrity and working hard are key ingredients in life.” He explains that his model of making a living and providing something beneficial to community are intertwined. “The two go together,” Kelly states.
Pete Kelly has given to the Newburyport community that he loves so much in many ways. As a member of the charter committee for the Firehouse Center for the Arts, Kelly played an instrumental role in making sure that the theater and arts center became a reality. Today he continues to serve the artistic organization as treasurer. And he is a long-time member of the Rotary Club. “The Rotary works very hard to offer programs and create events that help the community through local charities,” Kelly says. Kelly also serves as a trustee for the Institution for Savings and is a strong supporter of Anna Jaques Hospital.
A true townie (“I was born at the Anna Jaques,” he shares), Kelly wears his townie status proudly but humbly. “I like to welcome everyone to my store and to the community,” he states. Kelly says that he loves the mix of families—those who have been here for generations and also the newer citizens who bring “bright, new avant-garde ideas.” Kelly acknowledges certain local issues that not everyone agrees on, but he says that the beauty and community spirit of Newburyport make the city a wonderful place to live. “Living is all about people and community,” Kelly states.
Kelly inherited his life’s philosophy from his father. “Dad was way ahead of his time. He broke down all barriers . . . he treated everyone with respect and gave everyone the same level of opportunity,” Kelly says, sharing that the reason he is an “enormous believer in communication” is because of the example his father set for him.
“My father remains my greatest inspiration,” Kelly says. “I suspect that he is looking down on me now, pleased.” Kelly tilts his head upward, casts his gaze at the ceiling, and smiles.
Kathleen Downey is the Features Editor for Newburyport Today. If you are a townie or a citizen who would like to be profiled (or to suggest someone to profile), please email: Kathleen@Newburyport-Today.com.
