For more than half a century, Casey’s Color Center has been woven into the everyday life of Winslow. It is the kind of store people grow up with, where grandparents once bought fertilizer for backyard gardens, where parents picked up lumber for home repairs and where kids wandered the aisles looking for craft supplies for a last-minute school project. The store has long been a place where practical errands turn into conversations, where advice is shared across the counter and where customers are known by name. For decades, Casey’s has quietly served as both a hardware store and a community touchstone, a steady presence through economic shifts and changing times.
By late 2024 and into 2025, regular customers began noticing something unsettling. The shelves were emptier. Inventory that had always been there was suddenly gone. The store felt different. Many quietly wondered whether Casey’s was preparing to close its doors for good.
Kyle and Jody Johnson were among those watching it happen. Already business owners in town through Captain Tony’s Pizza, they understood both the difficulty and importance of keeping local institutions alive. As they began exploring the possibility of purchasing Casey’s, the timing was anything but easy. The federal government shutdown last fall created unexpected complications. “We couldn’t even get an EIN (Employer Identification) number,” Kyle said, recalling how even the basic administrative steps were stalled before they could formally move forward.
Despite the hurdles, the decision to buy the store was rooted in something simple and practical. “It was hard,” Jody said. “We had to keep driving to Flag for nuts and bolts.” Like many Winslow residents, they found themselves making repeated trips to Flagstaff’s big-box stores just to get basic supplies. The inconvenience was frustrating and it underscored what the town was losing. For Kyle, it was personal in another way too. His first job had been selling candles and he used to buy his supplies at Casey’s. The store had played a role in his own early entrepreneurial steps.
The deal came together in less than seven weeks and on Jan. 1, the Johnsons officially took ownership. What they inherited, however, was not a rebuilding project of their own. During the previous ownership, several longtime employees had been let go, leaving both operational gaps and emotional ones. Since taking over, Kyle and Jody have rehired two former employees and brought in two trusted employees from Captain Tony’s Pizza to help stabilize the transition. The goal, Kyle said, was continuity, restoring not just inventory but familiarity.
In the early weeks of ownership, restocking became the most visible sign of change. Deliveries increased and shelves began filling out. Customers who had grown used to sparse displays began seeing depth again. Some of the stocking decisions were deliberate risks shaped by local knowledge. When a shipment of electric sheep shears arrived, it was not because a corporate office told them to carry it. It was because Kyle understood who lives here and what they need. Within two days, the shears were sold out.
“This is what I mean,” Kyle said. “The other guys aren’t going to stock this kind of stuff, but I know the community and am able to build the store around what they need.”
The same pattern played out with a specialty RV plumbing supply. In the first two months after reopening, more than four people came in asking for it. Now it is stocked on the shelf. Instead of relying on a national inventory template, Kyle listens to what people ask for and adjusts quickly.
That flexibility extends beyond merchandise. One evening, just after closing, a customer who had purchased plumbing supplies earlier in the day returned after realizing they had bought the wrong part. The store was locked. Instead of sending them away, Jody reopened the doors and completed the sale. It was not a dramatic gesture, but it reflected the kind of service the Johnsons believe sets them apart from larger competitors.
The reopening also comes as Winslow prepares to welcome its first corporate hardware store, an Ace Hardware. For many independent operators, that would be intimidating. Kyle acknowledges the competition but remains confident that Casey’s advantage lies in local knowledge and responsiveness rather than scale. The goal is not to be everything to everyone, but to be exactly what Winslow needs.
Balancing two businesses while maintaining full-time commitments has required discipline. Kyle continues to work full time for BNSF while helping guide the direction of both Casey’s and Captain Tony’s. Jody, who until recently worked full-time hours at the Safeway Pharmacy, has stepped away to focus more fully on the family’s businesses. Their sons, both graduates of Winslow High School, reflect the family’s deep roots here Trevor now serves in the U.S. Army, and is deploying to Iraq in a few weeks, and Ryan is pursuing a law degree at the University of Virginia.
Two months into ownership, the Johnsons measure progress not just in sales but in stability. “Through all these frustrations, we’re three months ahead of schedule,” Kyle said. The comment carries weight, considering the improvement project, staffing rebuild and inventory overhaul they faced at the outset. Kyle said they still plan to put another $250,000 into the renovation and inventory before it will be fully complete.
Recently, the store’s ribbon cutting drew a strong turnout from the community, a visible reminder that Casey’s still matters. For many who attended, it felt less like a grand opening and more like a collective sigh of relief.
More than five decades after it first opened its doors, Casey’s Color Center is once again stocked, staffed and steady. What once looked uncertain now feels restored. In a town where driving to Flagstaff for basic hardware had become routine, the Johnsons have brought something back home.
