Jamie Idzi has run her Bethany Beach pet boutique for more than 20 years, and each year has outperformed the last in sales and merchandising. She started working at Yuppy Puppy right after her senior year of high school, at 18 — some 20 years ago — when family friends were planning to spend the summer in Bethany. Two years later, at 20, she bought the business.
This week, she offered some entrepreneurship tips and small-business recommendations to those who may wish to start a retail store.
“The road to success is not linear,” said Idzi, adding that she believes in self-determination. “Don’t give up, keep pushing, because it is worth the fight. Your time will come.”
Chunky and Junior, two English bulldogs, visited the pet store on a Saturday morning in search of some treats. They are loyal customers of a boutique dedicated to dogs — now in its 23rd year of business overall — and, of course, they were rewarded.
The Yuppy Puppy, located at 123 Garfield Parkway in downtown Bethany, carries unique items, such as “coastal collars” with beach themes, a new “college collection” of university-branded collars and doggy clean-up kits, and puppy treats and accessories. Idzi said she now has 80 different colleges represented at the shop.
“My parents gave me a loan to buy the Yuppy Puppy store, and we have grown annually every year,” said Idzi. “I was able to pay them back and bought them out after a few years. But I would not be here today without their faith in me at age 20 or 21 years old.”
“The store really found me,” she said. “You never know when opportunity will present itself. So you have to lean in to these opportunities, lean in to what you do well and grow that part, instead of just expanding into something new. You have to focus on your strength as a business.
“Do well what you do,” Idzi said was the best business advice she ever received. “I am constantly observing consumer trends in fashion,” said the one-time Nordstrom fashion merchandiser. “I like to spot consumer trends, color palettes, what people are wearing, and then I can make a better decision in the pet-accessory buying process.”
“It’s an exceptional place,” said Bobbi Stettner-Eaton, who has worked at the Yuppy Puppy for 10 years. “It has to be cute and stylish for Jamie to stock the item. Our coastal collars are the biggest sellers here, and the college collection is new and inspired by our customers, who give us their alma mater so our designer can create a collar.”
After Idzi hired her, Stettner-Eaton has become the “pancake lady” for the weekly pup-cakes offerings at the store.
“Pancake Sunday was one of my innovations, in 2004, and that has been everyone’s favorite connection with us,” said Idzi.
Stetnner-Eaton said, “I have a PhD in pancakes.”
“July was our best month ever,” said Stettner-Eaton, “July was insanely fabulous for us as a business. It was because of our loyal customers coming back to stock-up. And this July was the best Fourth of July we ever had, by a lot. It was good for us.”
Bethany Beach Mayor Rosemary Hardiman said this Fourth of July holiday was the most crowded she had ever witnessed the town, with beachgoers and shoppers lining the boardwalk and the storefronts.
“It was the most business and enthusiastic downtown shoppers we have seen,” she said at a nearby coffee shop. Some businesses are reporting increased sales of 5 percent, she said.
Branded as “Bethany Beach’s original dog boutique,” Yuppy Puppy is part of the town’s business community and also supports the Brandywine ASPCA for pet adoptions, as an official sponsor. A jarful of cash donations is on the counter, and Yuppy Puppy hosts regular pet adoption clinics.
“We are a boutique, and dogs are our specialty, so we want to give back and sponsor the local ASPCA,” said Stettner-Eaton. “Last year, we had two cute beagles who were adopted to a new home. The next adoption event will be here in September, because it’s a little too hot to bring the pups outside.”
“We have a pet groomer coming later this month who will do nails and foot care, with a nail trim and Dremel,” she added. The trim clinic runs from 9 a.m. to noon on July 28. “A lot of our customers may have not had time to groom their pets before vacation, so our customers are thrilled.”
Idzi added that no appointment is needed for the nail-care event, that it’s first come-first served.
“Jamie started working here as a young woman, and she is a creative and energetic person,” said Stettner-Eaton. “So, she bought the business and has grown it every year.”
“I have a good eye for how to display things,” Idzi said. “I enjoy the merchandising part of the business. I try to buy American and source as much as a I can to U.S.-based producers. My favorite supplier is in Massachusetts, who makes our leashes and collars — also our best sellers.”
“We also buy our treats from local pet-food companies, and we do a lot of business with Tail Bangers in Millsboro,” added Stettner-Easton. “We also recycle a good amount of their scrap treats that are not quite perfect for the stores, and we sell them in bags here.”
“I knew Lisa St. Clair when she was just baking her doggie treats in her kitchen at home,” said Idzi. “Now she has gone national, with delivery trucks waiting outside her manufacturing site.”
Pancake Sunday, with its homemade pancakes for pets and a different flavor every week, also helps drive more traffic and loyal customers to the Yuppy Puppy. So does Beach Break Bakrie, which has human breakfast sandwiches and muffin treats nearby.
“She’s super cool,” said Beth Webb, owner and manager of Beach Break Bakrie of Idzi, who is her neighbor in the retail shopping plaza.
“And, of course, Jamie is a wonderful manager with whom to work,” added her 10-year veteran pancake chef.
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