The woman behind North Fork True Value roadside signs that keep drivers laughing

A Jamesport hardware store really hits the nail on the head — when it comes to wisecracks.

The always-changing sign outside North Fork True Value carries a different message on each side. Drivers heading east on Main Road currently get: “Summer’s over but traffic is still here.” Those driving west see: “DIY projects always start with this should be easy.”

The witty person behind the rotating roadside riffs is Katie Sorady, the manager at North Fork True Value.

“Some people just come in and give me a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down,” Ms. Sorady recently told the Riverhead News-Review.

Ms. Sorady, a Westhampton resident, started dreaming up the messages in spring 2022, several months after owner Ted Jankowski reopened the former Jamesport Hardware as North Fork True Value.

When general manager Jeff Wachenfeld gave her the go-ahead, the black-lettered one-liners started popping up on the white sign.

“The sign has become one of the features I’m most proud of at North Fork True Value,” Mr. Wachenfeld said. “When I was first renovating the building, I actually thought about taking it down. Then, Katie started putting funny messages on it, and it quickly became something much bigger than expected. I started getting texts from friends, customers and even complete strangers telling me how much they enjoyed the sign and how they looked forward to seeing what we would put up next each month.”

Her first attempt set the tone: “If it’s in stock, we have it.”

The jab remains one of Ms. Sorady’s favorites — and one of the signs customers remember most.

“I never thought I’d get that many comments on it. It was such a good one,” she said.

Anything and everything is fair game.

This past August, there was an uptick in lanternfly sightings, leading to a quip many can agree on: “Lantern fly season because mosquitoes weren’t enough.”

Last Halloween, Ms. Sorady leaned into the spooky season with a sign that said, “When one door opens, another closes, your house is probably haunted.”

“The signs change every month,” Ms. Sorady said. “I take into account the time of year and try to gear them towards that. In the fall, for example, I’ll do things about pumpkin picking, football, Thanksgiving and stuff like that. I take the seasons and figure out how I can make something funny and apply it to life around here.”

The signs have done more than give passing drivers a laugh. They have also drawn attention to the store and become something regular customers look for, according to Ms. Sorady.

“We like knowing that someone might be driving down Main Road after having a bad day, see the sign, and get a laugh out of it,” Mr. Wachenfeld said. “To us, that means more than using the space to advertise five dollars off a bag of Scotts lawn products.”

One customer even gave Ms. Sorady a joking complaint when she was late changing the message. The customer told her that her son said his day wasn’t going to be made until the new sign went up.

That kind of reaction is part of what keeps Ms. Sorady coming up with the next one.

“A lot of people like it, and I think it has become part of our identity,” she said. “They look forward to it. They’ll see me outside and ask, ‘What’s it going to be?’ It’s definitely helped us. A lot of people have just stopped to take pictures of it, including people who are traveling by. They’ll say, ‘This is really funny,’ and send it to their family across the country. It makes me feel good.”

“It’s become the personality of the store,” Mr. Wachenfeld said.