A new location near the Black Dog Cafe on State Road is set to open in the coming weeks. Heavy demand on the Island for Benjamin Moore paints prompted the decision, the store owners said.

The 12-foot-long storefront sign for Edgartown Hardware came down on Tuesday afternoon. A small group assembled in front of the store to witness the retirement of the sign on a quiet midwinter day when few people were out and about on Main street. Work crews moving boxes from the old store into a waiting truck stopped and looked up as the sign came down.

Cans of Paint and a Handshake

The Edgartown Hardware Store has long been a place where not only could you buy your paint, garden hoses, scallop baskets, art supplies, light bulbs and sheetrock screws for that weekend home project, but whatever you bought came with an important add-on at no extra charge: customer service.

They’re not moving far away, but the upcoming departure of the Edgartown Hardware store from Main street will mark the end of an era for downtown Edgartown.

“One of the core businesses, the only core business left, is leaving,” said Edgartown zoning board of appeals chairman Martin V. (Skip) Tomassian Jr., at a public hearing where Edgartown Hardware owners John and Pat Montes were granted permission to move their business into the former Old Colony car dealership building on the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road.