A pet store from Del Ray opened its newest location over the weekend at the Belle View Shopping Center.
The Dog Store is now open at 1612 Belle View Blvd, replacing a vacancy left by the Pampered Pet Boutique & Bakery earlier this year. Owner Paul Haire founded the shop’s first location in Del Ray in 2014, after opening Your Dog’s Best Friends daycare in 2003.
The business owner told ALXnow the new Belle View storefront is 2,200 square feet — roughly double the size of his Alexandria store — and that the interior renovation took about a week to wrap up. He said he was also able to maintain the previous tenant’s gondola shelving and freezers.
“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 about Pampered Pet’s closure. He later drove to the location and made a deal soon after.
“We were looking through the windows when someone inside noticed us and came to the door. It was the center’s property manager,” Haire said. “The interior was a hot mess. There was a freezer with raw food products where the electric had been off for six months.”
Haire said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck and members of the Fairfax CORE program encouraged him to open the shop during a local small business event.
“When they heard that I was considering this center for my second store, they pounced,” Haire said. “Very politely, but emphatically.”
The new Dog Store location is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
