Pet Supplies Plus, Yorktown
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
Scarsdale resident Jeffrey Cohen opened his Pet Supplies Plus franchise in Yorktown in early January and has owned several businesses in the past. But this is his first pet store.
“People spend money on pets. People love pets like their family,” Cohen said last week. “I think it’s a very good business and it’s a terrific company. So I wanted to be part of their team.”
Cohen’s new business is located in what was a portion of a Staples store. “I’ve been working on this for two-and-a-half years,” he said. “I like Yorktown and I like the BJ’s shopping center.”
“We wanted to take care of the people in the neighborhood,” Cohen said. It took nine weeks to renovate his new store, said Cohen, who runs the business in conjunction with his wife, Madelyn.
Cohen said most of his customers live in Yorktown, Cortlandt, Peekskill and Somers. He noted Pet Supplies Plus consists of 370 franchises located in 27 states.
Pet Supplies Plus has “that local neighborhood feel” with personal attention for its customers, Shawn Blessinger, a Long Island resident who is a Pet Supplies Plus district team leader, said.
Blessinger said the new store will support pet-related causes in the area, including dog parks and holding pet adoption events.
Pet Supplies Plus offers products to owners of dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, fish, and even sells chicken feed, Cohen noted. Some of the items offered include pet food (including healthy treats), medical supplies, and toys, fish and fish tanks, birds, mice, rats, gerbils, and even tarantellas. “We have stuff that you can’t find every place,” he said.
“It’s a one-stop shop,” Blessinger said. The Plus in the name of the stores refers to the “one-on-one service” and positive experiences provided to its customers, he said.
Cohen said his store offers holistic and natural pet food including Redford Naturals, dog food, which is only sold in Pet Supplies Plus stores. “It’s a premium food, but it’s cheaper than the ones you see advertised on TV,” he said. “It’s for the health and maintenance of a dog.” The better quality offered by Redford Naturals lengthens the lives of dogs, he said.
Blessinger said Pet Supplies Plus stores encourage pets to come and walk around with their owners. “It’s like brining a kid to Toys “R” Us and that’s what makes us so unique,” he said.
Another feature of Pet Supplies Plus is its dog wash facilities. “You bring your own pet. We give you towel and soap,” Cohen said. “You get to leave your mess here.”
Pet Supplies Plus is located at 3333 Crompond Rd. (Route 202). in Yorktown. For more information, call 914-930-8585 or 917-939-9959 or send an e-mail to madjef@pspfranchise.com.
