The new owners of the Winchester BMR are Darcy and Brittany Drevniok. The couple are looking forward to continuing the success of the Winchester BMR. Morin Photo

WINCHESTER – Brittany and Darcy Drevniok have taken over from long-time BMR owners Trish and Ken Boje.

On April 1, the young couple from Metcalfe took over ownership of the BMR hardware store, keeping BMR front and centre in the Winchester community and continuing the store’s Agrizone line of products.

Ken and Trish Boje have owned the hardware store for the past 17 years with the last ten as a BMR franchise.

Trish looked after the popular Country Treasures part of the store, while Ken looked after the hardware side.

The couple is excited to be moving on with the next chapter in their life. They have moved Country Treasures to Kemptville, where the two will continue to work.

Ken said he felt it was time for them to retire and do other things, but the couple have enjoyed their time in the Winchester community always helping when asked.

Under the Boje’s ownership, the Winchester BMR has promoted such community efforts such as the Heat for the Holidays’ program and Project Warmth along with House of Lazarus and Community Food Share.

Brittany and Darcy hope to continue that giving tradition as well as building on the success of Ken and Trish’s legacy.

The new owners make for an interesting team. Darcy will be looking after the construction material and hardware side of their business, while Brittany will be looking after the marketing, customer relations and operation of the store.

Brittany grew up in Hamilton and Darcy grew up in Russell. They met each other when they were children, when their families had cottages on the same lake.

They make for an interesting, enthusiastic, and effective team.

They are uniquely suited to continue the BMR tradition in Winchester.

Brittany has had a career in customer relations and the food industry, while Darcy has a construction background working in the contracting and construction industry, dealing with contractors, equipment and material sales.

“When I was in construction, I was involved with materials, so I was doing the purchasing for the business I worked for. I was always dealing with the suppliers to get the material that was needed. I had to deal with shortages and supply chain issues,” said Darcy.

Darcy remembers that the idea of purchasing BMR came about because of a conversation he had with Ken.

“I had a conversation with Ken and it kind of went from there,” he said. “It was the right time and in the right place.”

“I want to deal with [the] contractor and commercial side of things and Brittany is much better at the retail side of things than I am,” said Darcy.

The enthusiastic, and committed couple are looking forward to growing BMR.

They have no plans to radically change the store. The space that used to be occupied by Country Treasures will eventually be administration offices and hopefully a tool rental department.

“Eventually, and it will take some time, but I would like to put a small tool rental section in with like leaf blowers and circular saws, for example.”

They have been able to retain as many of the former store’s staff as they can, but they are looking for people with experience in construction materials and agricultural products to carry on the BMR tradition.

The Winchester BMR carries a complete line of hardware supplies as well as seasonal products for the gardener, farmer, or homeowner.

For more information about the Winchester BMR, you can call 613-774-2700 or go to their website at BMR.ca.

The store is located at 12235 County Rd 38 in Winchester.