By Eric Michael Stitt (Updated: Thursday, June 7, 2007 10:08 AM PDT)
Livia Gaspar and Barbara Morrison, co-owners of Pet Foods Market.
(photo by Chris Miller)
Pet Foods Market is bringing the values of animal nutrition and health to area pet owners.
Livia Gaspar and Barbara Morrison, who own the new Manhattan Beach store, sell high-quality pet products and foods that are all natural. The store is striving to inform pet owners that using natural products benefits their animals. According to Morrison, their customers are listening.
The entire concept of natural pet food is starting to gain momentum in the animal market, according to Morrison. So the duo decided to open a pet store that embraces the natural pet food movement. “It's a growing portion of the pet industry. It's growing by leaps and bounds,” she said.
Because they only carry organic foods, their motive is to make sure their customer's pets are eating food made of the best ingredients available.
Gaspar said their most popular brand is called Nature's Variety, which is for cats and dogs. She said the company fuses the outside coating of food with nutritional ingredients and protein. Morrison said the nutritional value is lost when pet foods are heated, so Nature's Variety patented the concept of covering the outside with nutrients before packaging the food.
“It's a high-protein, low-carb diet,” Gaspar said. “Dogs will digest the food better, have a shinier coat and have healthy bones.”
Nature's Variety's slogan is “Food so good, it will make your pets smile.”
Although dog and cat products are the bulk of their inventory, Pet Foods Market, which is the largest single pet supply store in Manhattan Beach, does supply food for small animals such as hamsters, rabbits and birds.
Gaspar said they also have a full line of pet toys and a full selection of collars and training tools. The store also offers pet photography, low-cost vaccinations and anesthesia-free teeth cleanings.
Since they opened on April 30, they have had a positive reaction from the area, Morrison said. Gaspar said the reason they chose Manhattan Beach is because it “doesn't have a pet store that can provide all-organic pet foods and supplies.”
Morrison said pet owners in this area are unique and very responsible when it comes to taking care of their pets.
“They research the food and listen to our advice,” Morrison said. “People here treat their pets like family, as if they're one of the kids.” Like their customers, both Morrison and Gaspar love animals. Ever since Gaspar was a little girl, she has been an animal lover. Morrison said she thought opening a store would be the perfect way to help people and their pets.
Although they have been open only about a month, Pet Foods Market already has a loyal following with customers returning to shop five times, Morrison said.
“Business is good. It's growing and we've been really well-received in the community,” Morrison said. “It's been a really positive experience opening the store.”
To celebrate the store's opening, Pet Foods Market is having a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 15 and a grand opening on June 22 and 23, Morrison said. They will have raffles giving away lots of products throughout the two-day event along with vendors.
“We're expecting a lot of people,” Morrison said. “We want to make a big bang and return the favor to our customers.”
Pet Foods Market is located at 1816 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Its store hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (310) 546-8090.
Question: Members of the political action committee Building a Better Redondo were unsuccessful in their bid to amend the city's charter. They had hoped to alter the city's land-use planning process by placing any “major land-use change” up for a public vote. They were about 350 signatures short. In response the mayor recently announced the creation of a task force to address the issues that the group is concerned about. * Should the group resubmit its petition as members have claimed they might?
* Should the group work with the mayor's task force to come up with solutions to the many problems they see within the city associated with building and planning?
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