A popular Barnwell business has resurfaced after being closed for 15 years.
Barnwell Pool Supply opened its doors on April 15. The store sells chemicals and products for pools and hot tubs, but also tests water samples.
“The most enjoyment I get out of it is helping people,” said Janet Nash, who owns the business with her husband Rick.
The original business was operated for nearly 30 years by Janet’s brother, Terry Brinkley. Janet worked for her brother for 13 years after quitting her job at the Savannah River Site when her two daughters were born. She wanted a job that allowed her to spend time with her children so she didn’t have to put them in daycare.
“I raised my girls up in the store,” she said.
Ever since the store’s closure 15 years ago, Janet and Terry were constantly asked about reopening the business. However, the timing wasn’t right at the time. Janet was caring for her aging parents and in-laws while helping run the farm she operates with Rick.
The pleas to reopen the store grew during the COVID pandemic, she said. After the deaths of her parents and in-laws in recent years, Janet strongly thought about reopening the store.
“I missed the people,” she said.
Though some technology had changed, particularly with the testing machines, Terry told his sister that the basics of the pool business were still the same because “chemistry is chemistry,” Janet said.
“The first day it was just like I stepped from 15 years ago to today,” she said.
She’s enjoyed getting back to helping people, such as finding the right combination of chemicals to get a pool ready.
“If I let them talk long enough, they will eventually give me the key to what’s going on with their pool,” Janet said.
Rick said the water testing machine prints a report so the customer knows what is needed to get the pool in the right condition and can print a shopping list by preferred brand.
In a Facebook review, Mallory Ray praised Barnwell Pool Supply for their service. She said she previously wasted money on test strips and chemicals from big box stores, but never got the right result.
“I took a sample of our pool water to Barnwell Pool Supply and Ms. Janet gave me a printout of what was going on, had the solution in store for way less than what Walmart charges, and the quality is 10 times better! My pool was green just yesterday! I put the chemicals in that she said would work and they did!” said Ray.
The Nashes originally planned to reopen the store in the original building on Dunbarton Boulevard in 2022, but unexpected circumstances prevented that. They found their new home at 283 Jackson Street, Barnwell, after the closure of Tucker Orthodontics.
At the official grand opening on May 20, Janet and Rick served hamburgers made from beef that came from Janrick Farm, which they started in 2012.
“It was a lot of picking and choosing while trying to get the herd established so we could get consistent quality. We’ve had a lot of fun,” said Janet of the farm.
The couple plans to sell their meats at the Barnwell Farmers Market on the fourth Saturdays. They will blog about their experience, the good and bad, at www.smallfarmexperiencesc.org.
Barnwell Pool Supply is open Monday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Wednesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
