Mark Wardeiner hopes his new pet supplies store in the West Geauga Plaza maintains the spirit of its previous inhabitant — the late Theodore ‘Ted’ Berr, longtime owner of A Pet’s Life.
Mark Wardeiner hopes his new pet supplies store in the West Geauga Plaza maintains the spirit of its previous inhabitant — the late Theodore ‘Ted’ Berr, longtime owner of A Pet’s Life.
“I had hoped to carry on his legacy and great reputation,” said Wardeiner, who recently opened Happy Tails Pet Supply in the same spot as Berr’s store, 12654 West Geauga Plaza.
Wardeiner, a native of Mentor, is no stranger to the West Geauga Plaza, having also opened a Great Clips salon there in October 2020.
At the time, he found his fellow business owners to be incredibly welcoming and helpful, he said, adding the experience has been no different with his expansion into pet supplies.
“I’ve had stylists from Great Clips come over and make signs or help stack the food, and I had Ace (Hardware’s help). I kept asking how they run their POS system and printing out their price labels,” he recounted.
Wardeiner said the atmosphere in Mentor is busy with an abundance of traffic and chain brands in comparison to the loyal support he found in Chester.
“Even businesses go out of their way to support each other,” he said, adding he was partially inspired to open a pet supplies shop after he and his wife bought a dog, but he didn’t seriously look into it until he saw a Pet Value in Madison go out of business.
“It looked like, ‘Hey, this could be fun to own a pet supplies store,’” Wardeiner said. “And I started interviewing and looking around. I looked into franchising and I just didn’t like the feel of the franchise that was offered.”
During his search, he spoke with Jennifer Kluk, current manager of Happy Tails and then employee of A Pet’s Life, which was closing following the death of its owner.
“The store was open for 18 years and closed I believe on Nov. 18, 2022, at which point Mark approached me to run a business here for Happy Tails for him using the previous customer base that has been very loyal,” Kluk said.
Happy Tails, which officially opened Feb. 3, offers a variety of healthy dog and cat foods and toys, as well as a self-serve dog wash and professional grooming services. They are also looking to expand into options for less common pets, such as rodents.
The quality of customer service and knowledge of the staff is what sets Happy Tails apart from other similar shops, Wardeiner said.
“You can come in and your dog has a certain problem and (the staff is) able to guide you on the food that might help your dog,” he said.
Kluk, who was trained by Berr, has made it her mission to help the pets that come through the store via the knowledge passed down to her.
“(Berr) basically through the years taught me everything about nutrition and how to specialize in healthy alternatives for some of the prescription foods that are out there that a lot of people are dealing with now,” she said. “I made it a goal to use my knowledge that he taught me as far as to help customers that come in to find healthy alternatives and to teach them the overall health of the pet.”
More information about the brands stocked by Happy Tails can be found on their website, www.happytailspetsupply.com. They are currently working on a system that would allow customers to order online and pick up in store, Wardeiner said, adding he is also looking to set up cross promotions between Great Clips and Happy Tails, and promotions based around the offered food brands.
Happy Tails is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.
