'Yappy hour' marks new pet food store

Chuck Anderson, chief financial officer and co-founder of Chuck & Don's Pet Food Outlet, was not dogged by the recession.

"We saw positive, same-store sales growth during the recession, which was astonishing," Peterson said last week as he chatted about new stores.

So it's time to celebrate with a treat from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at "yappy hour" at the new store on Central Avenue in lower northeast Minneapolis.

"We're happy with that store," said Anderson, 70, a dog-loving accountant out of the University of Minnesota Duluth. "It's surrounded by condos. We're on the verge of starting delivery service."

People love their dogs and cats, even during a recession. And the 18-store, 217-employee company has added a few more stores in the Twin Cities area and Denver.

"Our revenue in 2006 was $11 million and in 2011 our forecast is $30 million," Anderson said. "What we saw through the recession is that the mix we sell changed a bit. They're still feeding the pets, but instead of buying five rawhide bones they only buy two.

"Studies show that for most people, animal ownership -- especially if you are alone -- is good for your health. A lot of empty-nesters treat their dogs and cats well, maybe better than the kids. They spend the money. Our target customer was a 35- to 50-year-old woman with three kids and a dog or two. And our target customer is getting older. Those are the people who've got money. They have the wherewithal to provide for their animals with preferred food."

Anderson and his wife, Sharon, bought their first German shepherd in 1964 and started training dogs in 1972 for a Lake Elmo kennel. Peterson quit a job in 1979 to buy and operate the kennel and also opened a dog-training school. He met his now-retired partner, Don Tauer, in the 1980s.

Customers asked them to sell food at the training-and-boarding business. They launched their first Chuck & Don's in Eagan in 1990. It's still in business.

Chuck & Don's CEO Bob Hartzell, 58, a veteran businessman and dog lover, joined as a partner in 1996 and leads the retail business.

There's plenty of competition from grocery stores, independents and national chains in what has become a $50 billion nationwide business.

The company is opening four Denver-area stores this year.

Rembrandt Enterprises, the Iowa-based egg operation of which Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor is majority owner, has settled a 2010 lawsuit that it brought against a onetime New Jersey liquid egg supplier that got into financial trouble during the recession. The terms call for Deb-El Food Products to pay $989,923 in principal and interest through February 2012.

Deb-El's lawyer said the settlement was approximately what his client was trying to make good on before Rembrandt sued Deb-El in 2010.

"There was never an offer on the table that bore any resemblance to the settlement agreement that was ultimately negotiated and agreed to here," said Alain Baudry, Rembrandt's attorney. "It was only after the court granted summary judgment in favor of Rembrandt …. that Deb El consented to repay amounts owed and provide reasonable security requested by Rembrandt."At issue was a contract dating to 2007 for Rembrandt to deliver tens of millions of pounds of liquid eggs. Deb-El started missing payments and bouncing checks in 2009 and Rembrandt, one of the nation's largest egg producers, imposed new terms on Deb-El, then cut deliveries and sued for breach of contract and fraud.

The New Jersey company said it was trying to resolve the matter in good faith and that Rembrandt failed to deliver product that Deb-El needed to sell and stay in business.

Hennepin County District Judge George McGunnigle dismissed Deb-El's fraud countersuit against Rembrandt and directed the two parties to enter settlement talks last summer.

The Carrollton, Texas-based debt collection firm was sold to new owners in July as the Minnesota Commerce Department was investigating. NRS' new president, Brian Gulledge, said former managers are gone and the trust funds restored.