March 24, 2025

A family-owned business that has been a fixture on 41st Street moved earlier this month to a new location.

Bob’s Lock & Key, which originally opened in 1968, needed more space, and Ryan and Jennifer Hawks found it on Western Avenue in the Media One Center mall.

“If we want the business to grow, we’ve got to grow too,” Ryan Hawks said.

Bob’s Lock & Key has had several owners since Bob Joffer founded it more than 50 years ago. Randy Hawks joined the business in 1986, purchasing it from Dave Daggett in 2009 with his wife, Kathleen.

Ryan Hawks joined the family business in 2012. His father died in 2014, and Kathleen Hawks continued as owner. Jennifer Hawks started about three years ago and oversees the day-to-day operations. When the younger Hawks purchased Bob’s Lock & Key from Kathleen Hawks, it marked the first time the business was sold to family.

Bob’s Lock & Key offers residential, commercial and automotive services in the tri-state area, Jennifer Hawks said. With the recent hiring of a new technician, six people in a 1,000-square-foot area in addition to the necessary equipment made the old building, which she said is one of the oldest on 41 Street, too cramped.

“Space is the biggest part” behind the decision to move, Jennifer Hawks said. “We just outgrew the location.”

Randy Hawks expanded the business to include safes but stopped when his supplier stopped carrying them. Now, the Hawks have found a different supplier, and the staff can now sell, deliver and install new safes and open safes where the dial combination or key fob has been lost.

The business also delivers ATM machines to banks, offers commercial and residential door rekeying and can provide keyless access. Automotive services include programming duplicate keys for vehicles, opening cars and rekeying door locks.

As a full-service shop, the days are filled with variety, Jennifer Hawks said.

“You never know what you’re going to get from one customer to the next,” she said. “And our customers can be having a hard day, so you have to know how to deal with that.”

Not everyone who advertises that they can open cars are actually experienced, Jennifer Hawks said. Bob’s Lock & Key technicians are trained and certified.

“We pride ourselves on being certified in the field to work on these types of equipment, and we’ll be aboveboard with it all.”

Bob’s Lock & Key opened in what was once a small house that still stands on the Graham Automotive lot before the business moved across the street to a building that once housed Seymour’s Red & White grocery. Former Bob’s owner Dave Daggett still owns that building. A school for emergency medical technicians most recently inhabited Bob’s Lock & Key’s new location.

“It was hard for us to leave, there’s so much history in that building,” Jennifer Hawks said. “We held off as long as we did, but this is a gem of a spot.”

“We plan to be here for the next 50 years,” Ryan Hawks said.