What happens when you invite the newly retired President to your store? He might just come, and make national headlines as a result.

That’s what happened last month when George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Dallas-based Elliott’s Hardware He was responding to a letter that was sent to Bush and that appeared in the Feb. 5 edition of The Dallas Morning News, in which Elliott’s CEO Kyle Walters invited Bush to be a part-time greeter at the 76,000-sq.-ft Do it Best store.

“We made a very sincere offer, basically a ‘Welcome back to Dallas’ for the President,” Walters said “But it has definitely exceeded our expectations. We had no idea it would go national like it In fact, the story of former President Bush’s visit to Elliott’s has been recognized by media sources not only across the United States -- but also the world. According to Elliott’s spokeswoman Andrea Bond, the story has run in hundreds of U.S. publications as well as on CNN, MSNBC and NBC affiliates in New York and Miami. In addition, inquiries have come from U.K.-based BBC radio, a Russian celebrity magazine and media sources in Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Korea, Singapore and Australia.

Elliott’s, which has been in business since 1947, has been employing greeters for more than 50 years. In the letter to Bush, Walters listed the positives of the job as: a flexible part-time schedule; an opportunity to keep up on his people skills, a seven-mile commute between the store and his new Dallas home, ample parking (including space for his security detail) and an employee discount (for any projects Laura Bush may have on the “Honey-Do” list).

“We came up with the idea internally, put a letter together and mailed it to him,” Walters said. And while he insists the offer was serious, Walters had no idea the former President would actually show up.

In fact, when Bush and his security detail did arrive at Elliott’s around 11 a.m on Feb 21, Walters was out of town. According to Bond, four black Chevy Suburban SUVs pulled into the store’s parking lot that morning, and the next thing the staff knew, Bush -- flanked by a handful of Secret Service agents -- strode through the door and said, “Hey, I’m looking for a job.”

“That got a laugh from everybody, and then he I started shaking hands with people, taking pictures, talking to everyone who wanted to talk to him,” Bond said. “Finally, one of our employees I went up to him and said, ‘What can I help you with?’ He said, ‘Flashlights and batteries.’”

Bush spent about an hour in the store and bought some heavy-duty Mag flashlights, several different sized batteries, a few night lights and a can of WD-40. The bill came to about $150, which he paid in cash. As for the job offer, Bush has not accepted but has not officially turned it down either.

Either way, Elliott’s -- which also has locations in Plano and Mesquite, Texas -- has gotten more than its share of mileage out of this creative marketing ploy.

“It was a risky thing we did, especially given the feelings about Bush around the country, but it has turned out to be really positive,” Bond said. “People come in every day and ask what he was like. Some people come in and say they didn’t know we were here before. We are thrilled and hope -- over the long haul -- it will increase business.”