I was driving along in my car last week when Mike Collins was hosting his morning talk show on NPR.    I was jolted into awareness when I heard the senior minister at my church answering a question. Then I realized that Jim Noble was on the show as well.  It clicked that this was a precursor to the program on Radical Hospitality that I’d signed up for last Sunday night.  After hearing the program, my desire to attend this event suddenly increased exponentially.

I was not disappointed.  James Howell, our minister, was great as always. And Jim Noble, well, he was my inspiration for the week as James extracted from this selfless man, details about his life.  Jim is the owner of several restaurants in the Charlotte area, notably Nobles and Roosters. But his more important endeavor in the world of restaurants, and his life’s calling, is King’s Kitchen in Uptown. It’s a non-profit restaurant that he started as a ministry to train homeless and/or rehabilitated men and women to work and turn their lives around.  Weekly staff worship services are held on the premises and Christian ideals and principles are imparted in a fervent attempt to give hope to these individuals and to instill life-altering change.

I am an avid note taker. Always have been. I go to hear a speaker, or sit through a church sermon, and chances are, I’m going to dig in my purse for a pen and jot notes on the bulletin or whatever I can find.  I love to ruminate later on the pearls of wisdom I notate.  Sunday night was no different.  We had a sheet of music at each place, and I completely encircled the front and the back with the pearls that I gleaned.

When I was writing these down, I was not only thinking about how they could impact my life, but how the core beliefs of Blackhawk Hardware resonated through the evening’s theme.  We don’t exactly call it Radical Hospitality, but we could.  Here it’s

[exceptional] Customer Service.

Putting two and two together made me feel especially proud about living in Charlotte, as well as where I worship and where I work.

Whenever I tell people that I work at Blackhawk Hardware, I hear accolades for this establishment.  People love the variety of items that they can find here and the fact that they can find what they’re looking for.  Of course, they mention the free popcorn.  But then they almost always say how the customer service is extraordinary.  One comment that stands out was someone who felt all warm and fuzzy that a gentleman, who would be about his late father’s age, can walk him to the very hardware item he’s seeking, and that then, if needed, can explain to him how to apply it or install it.  These people invariably cite an example of a Blackhawk employee going above or beyond.  This is surely Radical Hospitality at its best.

Jim Noble said that he had 3 things he requires of a successful restaurant:

  1. The atmosphere has to be good,
  2. The food has to be great,
  3. The staff must treat customers as if they’re guests in their home.

In my observation, Jim and Barb Wilkerson, owners of Blackhawk along with their son, Andy, are not much different.  They pretty much require 3 [similar] things for their successful hardware store:

  1. The atmosphere has to be good,
  2. The merchandise has to be great,
  3. The staff must treat customers as if they’re guests in their home.

Kudos!  Jim, Barb and Andy, as well as all my fellow cohorts.

It’s no wonder this store won The Coolest Hardware Store on the Planet award last year!