Local chain is barking up the right tree

Chuck and Don's Pet Food Outlet is a hit with pet owners who aren't afraid to splurge a little on their furry companions.

By Ben Goessling, Star Tribune

Last update: December 8, 2007 - 4:16 PM

Janice Helms has three Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and she's not willing to skimp on their food. She has her reasons.

Between 1995 and 2004, Helms lost her father, mother, two brothers and an aunt, who she'd been taking care of for six years. Her three children are out of the house, and she spends plenty of time worrying about her son Nick, who's flying F-16s in the U.S. Air Force.

"Those dogs kept me going," the 53-year-old Apple Valley resident said. "I never had a tear that hit my collar."

And the rash of pet food recalls earlier this year solidified her belief that their diet was worth a little more money.

Customers like Helms are the lifeblood of Chuck and Don's Pet Food Outlet, a Mahtomedi-based company that's found a home with pet owners who are increasingly willing to treat their dogs and cats like their own children.

The retailer, which specializes in premium pet food, opened its 13th Twin Cities-area store in Plymouth on Nov. 17. Industry estimates place its yearly revenues in excess of $2.5 million, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce named it a Blue Ribbon Small Business earlier this year.

It's maintained an intimate feel by keeping stores around 4,000 square feet, setting up holiday pet photo sessions, publishing a quarterly newsletter for roughly 45,000 subscribers and featuring "Customers of the Quarter" (Helms was one this fall).

That style is exactly what chief financial officer and co-founder Chuck Anderson said his baby-boomer-driven consumer base is seeking.

"There are all kinds of studies that show animal ownership improves health and extends lifespan," Anderson said. "Boomers are becoming empty-nesters. As their kids leave, they spend more on their pets. They want to treat them right."

Anderson began the business in the late 1980s with Don Tauer, whom Anderson met while he was a dog trainer. The two began selling pet food from a folding table, eventually opening their first store in Eagan in 1989.

Shortly after they met longtime entrepreneur Bob Hartzell in 1993, the company began to take off.

Hartzell had owned several restaurants and served on the board of directors of his father's manufacturing company. He became a partner in the company in 1996 and is now the president and CEO, which allowed Tauer to retire to his boarding kennel business in 2000.

"He brought more business savvy than either Don or I had," Anderson said.

Goal: Be a neighborhood spot

Hartzell pored through mounds of reports, realizing the company should limit its store size to be an effective alternative to big-box retailers such as Petsmart and Petco.

His goal is to "do for pet food what Caribou has done for coffee -- be that warm, friendly neighborhood spot," and he envisions more than 20 metro-area stores by 2015.

That would continue a healthy growth pace that has yielded a double-digit revenue increase this year and two new stores in the past month.

But as with most things the company does, there's a concerted effort to stay small.

"We can't be in a supercenter," Anderson said. "We have to be a destination stop."

It certainly has been for Helms.

She'll stop at Petco if she needs a bag of dog food quickly, but she said the majority of her pet food dollars go to Chuck and Don's.

To her, there's a trust worth a little extra.

"I don't know how to explain it. They seem genuinely interested in your pet," she said. "It's no different than when I had kids and somebody would say, 'Oh, your little one's so cute.' It evokes the same feeling."

Ben Goessling • 651-298-1546

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