ATHENA — When Heidi Stiers opens the door of Athena Hardware & Mercantile on Saturday, June 1, she opens the door to a long-held dream.

The store at 206 E. Main St. is the first hardware retailer since Pendleton Grain Growers closed shop more than a decade ago. The absence of a spot to replace a hammer or get a handful of screws has been deeply felt, locals have said.

After moving to Athena two years ago and starting her own remodeling project of her Victorian-era home, Stiers understood for herself the hardship of making such trips on a working person’s schedule.

As a city of Pendleton employee until May 24, she came and went from her home during the week, “but the weekends is when everyone wants to do home improvements,” Stiers said.

She already treasured all things hardware store.

“My mom and stepdad flipped old houses in the Midwest,” she said. “We lived in them, we’d renovate them, move and renovate again. I fell in love with hardware supplies. Then I fell in love with this building.

While the appearance shows little to love, the site of the St. Nichols Hotel at Main and Third streets holds a special place in the town’s history.

One of the town’s original settlers, John Froome, built the hotel in 1880, according to long-time educator and history buff Rob McIntyre.

He has spent decades restoring another Athena landmark, the Gem Theater on Main Street. He’s known for his dedication to historical accuracy.

Froome also constructed the building next door to the hotel, known as The Annex. It housed Froome’s family and was the first structure wired for electricity, McIntyre said.

At the time, Athena — then named Centerville — was a crossing spot for two railroads and there was plenty of traffic to support a lodging business, he noted.

During the decades, however, rail transportation needs in this part of Oregon shifted. The Froomes lived in The Annex until sometime in the 1920s. Throughout the last 50 years the original hotel eventually became rundown and used as a flophouse, McIntyre said.

In its heyday, St. Nichols was fancy for a small town. The hotel’s backbar — which had held the bottles of whisky and more — was used in the 1968 film, “Paint Your Wagon,” McIntyre said.

“I tried to chase it down, but failed. It’s lost to Hollywood,” he said.

The false-fronted building was well made despite a lack of building codes. Unlike other wooden buildings of the same era, the hotel’s floors still offer solid footing.

Athena resident and historian Sally Geissel provided historical documents denoting walls made of “wide, heavy, rough planks which were painted and wallpapered.”

Found in the pages of “The Athena Historical Building Inventory,” of 1987, the description of St. Nichols says the structure — although much altered — “is one of the very few large woodframe buildings remaining from the era is all of Umatilla County.”

Stiers needs no selling on the wonders of her new store’s interior. As she and her sons have worked to restore order to the space and create a commercial enterprise, a number of historical artifacts have been revealed.

Like the marble kickboard along one wall and the stained glass insets above it. As well as those planked walls, she said.

Athena Hardware & Mercantile will boast a vintage cash register on the counter, Stiers said, but just for show — a modern business needs modern technology, no matter the age of the setting.

Her business model is starting off modest with the basic nuts and bolts. Beside screws and nails, the store will carry some hand tools, craft and gardening supplies, household cleaners and paint brushes.

Her longer-term vision sees a small lumber yard, too, Stiers said.

“People are excited. I have a lot of backing from the town, a lot of support.”

That’s helpful to know, since her decision to give up a career in wastewater management meant also leaving behind the salary and benefits of a government employee,

That’s OK, the new business owner insisted: “I get to be my own boss.”

Athena Hardware & Mercantile, 206 E. Main St., opens Saturday, June 1, with a grand opening 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The store will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

For more information visit the business’ Facebook page.