New holistic pet food and fashion store opens doors after years as Internet business
A beagle named Bart will greet you at the door, and then he’ll probably be your escort as you shop Beastie Boutique, the newest pet food and fashion specialty store in Vancouver.
Salmon Creek residents Kristina McLeskey and her husband, Roger McLeskey, own the store. They also own four dogs, two cats and a horse, which likely explains their choice to launch such a business on Nov 11. Before opening their doors, however, the couple had two years of online practice. The McLeskeys decided to put a roof over their Web-based business after continually fielding the question, "Where are you located?" They spent close to $70,000 to provide the answer. With Roger as the silent partner, Kristina runs the store and now deals face-to-face with more than 50 vendors as well as a daily stream of pet owners.
"The pet business is a fun business," she said. "Every day I meet people with great stories or problems I can help them with."
Along with breed-specific toys, clothing and creature comforts like beds, blankets, nightlights and pillows, the boutique offers holistic diet foods for cats and dogs – formulas free of chemicals and devoid of wheat, corn or soy, ingredients pets cannot digest. Patrons may also purchase raw pet foods – whole frozen ingredients such as chicken or vegetables. McLeskey said the idea behind such foods is to be mindful of what your pet is eating.
"Basically, you’re really not knowing what you’re getting with (conventional) pet foods," she said. "There’s more nutrition pound for pound with holistic formulas."
There’s also a little more cost, pound for pound, with specialty foods. A 35-pound bag of holistic dog food runs around $30. But with three similarly themed stores in Vancouver alone, it is apparent there is a market for the more expensive products.
"People here really love their pets," McLeskey said. "I visited a lot of (similar) stores in Portland and I learned that a lot of their customers were from Vancouver."
McLeskey said she and her husband chose to locate in Vancouver because of the expected growth in the area. To get the word out, they ran a mass-mailer campaign, sending out post cards, distributed door hangers in surrounding neighborhoods and have relied on word of mouth.
"It’s picking up every day," McLeskey said of the business. "People come in and say, ‘Oh, somebody told me about you,’ so I know the word of mouth is getting around."
McLeskey said she also attends pet industry trade shows and conventions, such as the Northwest Pet and Companion Fair, to keep current on market issues.
Future plans include in-store pet adoptions and possibly opening a second store in the Vancouver area.
Beastie Boutique
Kristina McLeskey, owner
13023 N.E. Highway 99, Suite 8, Vancouver
360-574-6400
