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Success of Excess: Surplus City celebrating 50 years in business

By Walt Frank 3 min read

No matter what you are looking for there's a good chance you will find it at Surplus City, 2873 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd.

"We carry a little bit of everything. You never know what you will find when you walk in the door," said Nikki Gummo, who owns the business with her brother, Jamie.

The business, founded by Marshall S. and Mary Emma Jones -- the Gummo siblings' grandparents -- in January 1976, is marking its 50th year in business.

"When my grandfather started, he sold out of the trunk of his car. The original buildings were chicken coops that were cleaned out. We built his building in 2006. The other three buildings here are warehouses," Nikki Gummo said.

After her grandfather passed away in 1994, her parents Lloyd and Rebecca Gummo took over the business. She and Jamie became owners in 2024.

Surplus City deals in surplus items, factory overruns, buybacks and closeouts and they also buy directly from warehouse distributors and factories.

"We carry about 30,000 different products. Nuts and bolts are our biggest sellers," said purchasing manager Rick Smouse, who has been with the business for 48 years.

"You will find everything from tools, paint, nuts and bolts, to fabric, crafts, and holiday decorations. We also have deals on tshirts and sweatshirts, we sell dog beds, there is so much stuff. We can get a deal on anything and the next thing we are carrying it," Nikki Gummo said.

"After 50 years we still have local people who don't know what we sell. It is a cool store, it is not your average hardware and crafts store. We always have different things coming in."

Surplus City has grown to six locations with a total of 70 employees, 24 at the Altoona location.

LaVale, Md., opened in 1978, Williamsport in 1999, Carlisle in 2009, Chambersburg in 2019 and Youngstown, Ohio in 2024.

"Once we got Williamsport, it really took off," Nikki Gummo said.

Smoue said it is a challenge to compete with the much larger stores.

"We try to compare pricing without losing money. Some things we do great with and blow them away, others we try to keep it even," Smouse said. "We stress customer service, we push it."

Surplus City has many loyal customers such as Ted Shoenberger.

"I have been there almost every other day since they opened.The prices are good and they have what I need. I get a lot of body bolts and they mix car paint. The help is easy to get along with, they know what they are doing there. I never had any trouble,I have never had to take anything back," Shoenberger said.

Nikki Gummo is not sure if there will be future expansion for the business.

"My big brother Jamie makes most of the business decisions, we work together. He is the driver, he pushes for new locations and expansion," Nikki Gummo said. "We would like to continue and keep passing it down through the family. It would be nice to expand but with employee issues (trying to find people) it is hard and scary to think about adding another."

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.

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