The Business of Belonging — H&H Home & Hardware Retailer Profile

At H&H Home & Hardware in Marion, Ky., owner Shanna West has grown
a contractor-focused supply business into a community-centered store by paying close attention to how—and when—a small market wants to grow. 

In a town of roughly 3,000 people, expansion doesn’t happen quietly, or without scrutiny. For Shanna West, growing H&H Home & Hardware has never been about moving faster than the community, but learning the right time to move with the community. 

That thoughtful approach has shaped the business’s evolution from a commercial plumbing and electrical supply house into a retail hardware store woven tightly into the daily life of Marion, Ky., the county seat of Crittenden County in western Kentucky’s Pennyrile region. 

H&H traces its roots to 2000, when West’s parents and another couple opened a commercial and industrial supply business. Her father had worked in sales at a supply house and believed strongly in committing fully to the work. 

For more than a decade, the business served contractors and industrial customers exclusively. Retail wasn’t part of the plan. Nor was what might come next. “None of us five kids had really thought about succession,” West says. 

West entered the business during a period of personal transition, newly divorced and raising two children. “My intention was to come in and learn accounting,” she says. “I found out pretty quickly that I hated that job—but I loved my dad’s job of working with customers and products.” 

Learning alongside her father introduced her to the trades. “I love plumbing and electrical,” she says. Within a few years, West and her new husband, David, bought into the company. 

On January 1, 2019, they officially became owners. The following year, they expanded beyond the original footprint—and immediately had to deal with the pandemic. Space had always required creativity: The business shared a building with another operation, and expansion often meant improvisation. “The joke was, if we need room, we just move a wall,” West says. 

During the next few years, H&H continued to grow and took over the entire 40,000-square-foot building. A little later, local market changes provided the company with an opportunity to make another shift. A longtime local lumberyard began reducing inventory, and customer behavior followed. 

“That drop affected us,” West says. “That’s what made us decide to step into the lumber category.” The move required full commitment, not casual experimentation—and H&H now carries a robust selection of lumber and building supplies for framing, remodeling and more. 

Store Within Store Reflects the Community 

Marion is a rural town with a single stoplight, a large Amish population and a reputation for high-quality hunting. It’s also where West grew up. “We’re all born and raised here,” she says. “We know everybody.” 

From the beginning, she understood that perception matters, especially opening alongside long-established businesses. “We tried to compete in a complementary way,” she says. 

One of the clearest expressions of that philosophy is the H&H Community Space—a 20-by-20-foot faux storefront inside the store itself. It comes complete with a working ATM, lighted OPEN sign and sales counter; West and the H&H team make the space available free of charge to local groups. 

Speech and drama teams, youth soccer organizations, churches, Scouts, the county extension office, artisans and Amish neighbors have all used the space. “If soccer signups need a place to happen, they happen here,” West says. “That brings a ton of people into the store in one day.” 

From March through July, weekends are often booked solid. “Sometimes there’s more than one group,” she says. “Weekends here are incredibly busy.” 

Continue reading in the February 11, 2026 issue.