ROANOKE RAPIDS — A new pet store held its grand opening on Saturday, and a large turnout of people and pets stopped by to check out what they had to offer.
Located at 311 Premier Blvd., Pet Supermarket held its celebration with the public over the weekend, where a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the occasion.
Lindsay Wells, regional director of Pet Supermarket, thanked everyone for supporting the opening of the business.
“I grew up in Wilson County, North Carolina, so I feel like it’s a bit of hometown,” Wells said. “[We] are very happy to be here. We love the community.”
Ginny Lewis, president and CEO of the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, thanked Pet Supermarket for choosing RVCC to do business with.
“We’re excited for your growth here, the support,” Lewis said. “We’re going to do everything that we can to push and get folks in those doors — get that foot traffic.”
Many came inside the large store, some with pets, to browse the selection of products and see the animals for sale. The business had a large selection of brands catering to all sorts of pets, as well as animals for sale, such as fish, birds, reptiles, rabbits, ferrets and Skinny Guinea Pigs. Aside from the products, a self-service dog wash is provided for customers at the rear of the store, and Justin and Leah Robinson gave their German Shepherd, Bullet, a bath in one of the tubs.
Justin said it is nice to have another place in town to get pet supplies instead of ordering from their usual online pet store.
“I like bringing Bullet out to places like this because he likes to come out and socialize,” he said. “So it’s nice having places to bring him to.”
Some other products were fresh catnip plants and a section with frozen pet food. The store offered a raffle for guests who could win various products, including pet food, for a year. Outside in the front, employees gave demonstrations for making special pet food with the products they sell.
Store Manager Stephanie Watson said the chain has more than 300 stores and locations. Watson said the ribbon-cutting ceremony was significant for the company because it had enough support to actually have such a celebration. She said the business wants to give everyone an overall experience and highlighted their “We speak pet.”
“It’s what we strive by,” Watson said about the slogan. “It’s just part of everything we mean for helping the animals.”
She said that all eight of the employees were newly hired and took the last couple of weeks to learn the ropes of the company operations. Additionally, Watson said they anticipate partnering with an organization for cat and dog adoption events, but they will have cats housed at the store.
When asked about the difference between online pet stores and brick-and-mortar stores, District Manager Gabby Halle said the biggest thing about Pet Supermarket is customer service. Halle said having an in-person interaction adds to the experience offered compared to online stores.
“When a customer comes in and shops with us, they get to have that personal experience,” she said. “We get to know their name, we get to know their pet, we get to give them that treat. And it’s always an experience. It’s not just going to a website and ordering your product. It becomes a fun day, and it becomes a memorable moment with that customer. So I think that’s what it kind of speaks to just us being able to set ourselves apart by being able to offer that in-person customer experience where nowadays so many things are going virtual or just website no longer brick and mortar.”
Gabby said they do offer customers to purchase products online to pick up at the store or a same-day delivery with Instacart or DoorDash.
“We also do ship from store,” she said. “So we can ship the product directly to your front door. You can sign up for auto shipment.”
Halle said the business wants to be a big component of the community and wants to partner with local groups and be impactful.
“The community here has been wonderful,” she said. “We have had so much positive feedback from our customers even in just the last few short weeks. We’ve had customers just excited, banging down the door before we open, ready to come see us. The welcome has been amazing from Roanoke Rapids.”
For more information, call the store at 252-359-4953 or visit its website at petsupermarket.com
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