Charlestown Ace

Charlestown Ace, at 9 Austin St in Charlestown, turns out to be a neighborhood hardware store rather than a pest-control or repair outfit — nothing in its reviews or its own offerings describes exterminator or contracting work; people show up here for tools, paint, birdseed, a UPS drop-off, or a cut key. Google lists it at 4.1 stars from 132 ratings, a number that reads friendlier than the actual mood of the write-ups once you look past the star count. What recent customers keep pointing to is convenience: one visitor in June said it's where they "get what I need... for a good price," and reviewers through the spring praised a well-stocked floor, staff who help track down odd items, and an online order pickup that went smoothly. But that same recent stretch also carries two specific complaints worth knowing about — one customer said the Sodastream CO2 exchange price here didn't match what they'd paid everywhere else for a decade, and another had several keys cut at the counter and found only about half of them actually worked. Older reviews add a rougher edge: claims of being closed during posted hours and of management not owning a mistake when pressed. Across the reviews on record since 2021, that mix lands the real tone close to neutral rather than the glowing average the star count suggests — a fairly even split between quick five-star praise for stock and staff, and pointed, detailed complaints about pricing and follow-through. For a fast hardware run or a package drop-off, this is a reasonable stop. If you're having a key cut, test it in the lock before you leave the counter, and if a promotion or exchange rate seems off, ask to see the pricing sheet rather than take the register's word for it.