A new pet store opened over the weekend at the former Pampered Pet Boutique & Barkery (1612-A Belle View Blvd) in the Belle View Shopping Center.
The Dog Store in Belle View represents an expansion of a popular business with the same name that owner Paul Haire opened in Alexandria City’s Del Ray neighborhood (2301 Mount Vernon Avenue) in 2014.
Also the owner of Your Dog’s Best Friends (2000 Richmond Highway), a dog daycare that launched in Del Ray in 2003, Haire says Belle View’s Dog Store is 2,200 square feet — about double the size of the Alexandria store — and the interior renovation took about a week to wrap up.
“It’s a big space,” Haire said. “We’re able to expand on everything — the toys, the products and pet food brands we offer.”
Haire said he found the space in September after reading a story in ALXnow, FFXnow’s Alexandria-focused sister site, about the Pampered Pet closing. Haire said he drove down to the location to check it out and soon after made a deal.
“This wouldn’t have happened if ALXnow wasn’t my every day go-to source for local news,” Haire said. “We were looking through the windows when someone inside noticed us and came to the door. It was the center’s property manager. The interior was a hot mess. There was a freezer with raw food products where the electric [power] had been off for six months.”
Haire got approval to move into the space and soon after signed a lease. He was able to keep the gondola shelving, freezers and other equipment left behind by the previous tenant.
“We canvassed the other tenants and the feedback on the center was very strongly favorable,” Haire said.
According to Haire, the Dog Store’s expansion was further assisted by the Fairfax CORE program. As suggested by its acronym, which stands for Connecting, Opportunity, Resources for Entrepreneurs, the initiative from the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives provides resources and guidance to help businesses and entrepreneurs get established in the area.
Haire says he connected with the Fairfax County staff running CORE during a breakfast hosted by the local chamber of commerce at a restaurant in Belle View Shopping Center.
“The meeting was quickly turned over to Fairfax Supervisor [Dan] Storck whose topic was ‘How Fairfax Government can assist new small businesses,'” Haire said. “He brought with him representatives of Fairfax CORE program. When they heard what I was considering this center for my second store, they pounced — very politely, but emphatically.”
Selling food, toys, leashes and other canine accessories, The Dog Store is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
