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Customers at The Barking Zoo on Ninth Ave. in Chelsea lets their pooches get to know each other on a recent visit to the high-end pet store. In tightening times, still a dog’s life for Chelsea pets By Kathryn Lurie Pampered pooches seem to be recession-proof—at least in Chelsea. There may be no neighborhood in the five boroughs in which residents take their love for their furry companions more seriously. This is evidenced by the proliferation of parks, bakeries, salons and high-end boutiques, all whose sole demographic is the canine sect. As people throughout the city and the country brace for what seems like an imminent recession, these niche businesses—whose merchandise and services are surely considered by some to be superfluous or luxury—seem to be some of the most vulnerable to decreased consumer spending. However, storeowners are confident in their indispensability. On a recent chilly Saturday afternoon, Towne House Grooming on W. 19th St. in Chelsea was abuzz with the sound of fur clippers, yapping dogs and boisterous customers popping in to drop off or pick up their pets. As she tried to usher a large, freshly coiffed dog named Humphrey into a kennel, Elle Wong, a bubbly co-owner of Towne House Grooming, asked brightly, “So, is it official? Are we in a recession?” Wong said that it’s hard to tell if the recession has affected the business she owns with her husband, Peter Wei, because this is their slowest time of the year. (Dogs don’t shed as much in the winter months, he explained. When the heat comes in the summer months, owners tend to get their dogs groomed and shorn more often.) Wei said that he and Wong are well aware of the impending recession, but that he didn’t know if their business would really suffer because “people who have pets—grooming pets—absolutely have to get them groomed,” he said. “The only thing that I can think of,” Wong added, “is that they might, when they bring them in, get their hair cut shorter so it’ll stretch out and last longer.” In the couple’s cozy lobby, there’s a wall of dog toys and clothes. Eyeing it, Wong said, “I can tell you, we are definitely doing less retail.” She said that she and her husband were lucky they didn’t rely on the retail aspect of the business for their livelihood. Around the corner on Ninth Ave., nestled between luxury design stores, a high-end pet shop called The Barking Zoo is also lively as dogs and their owners stop in. “We’re pretty much a recession-proof store,” said Jay English, a co-owner of the Zoo. “We sell natural and holistic dog foods, so our customers come here every week. They have to buy food for their dogs.” Though he acknowledged that his customers could turn to other, cheaper dog foods as an alternative, he said that his clients have a certain taste, and that they were unlikely to stop buying their regular dog food. David Scott, a Chelsea resident who has two small dogs, Mickey and Sassy, is one of those people: He buys only high-end organic food for his pets. Though he usually buys his pet products online, he sometimes stops into the neighborhood dog boutiques to stock up on treats. He said that no matter what happens in the economy, he would not stop buying his regular dog food. “I would never deny them. They’re like my children,” he said. Though The Barking Zoo’s typical customer lives in Chelsea, English said that neighborhood changes—like the shops on 14th Street and the art gallery scene—are helping bring in a new type of customer that the store hasn’t really seen before: Tourists. “Tourists aren’t spend-conscientious,” English said with a grin. “They’ll buy everything.” Tourists, he said, are more likely to splurge on the more rare and expensive products the store offers, he said, things that tend to be one-time purchases. He pointed to a small, gray cashmere sweater with a price tag of $85 as an example. Though business through January has been pretty on-point, English said, February sales have been down about 3 to 5 percent. “As a business owner I do have concerns,” English said. “I’m trying to stay ahead of the curve.” English said he shops a bit more frugally now than he has in the past, and he asks his vendors for discounts that he’s never received before. Jay Silverman, an English professor at Nassau Community College, stops into Towne House Grooming every day when he and his white Maltese, Maisie, take their routine walk around the neighborhood. Their appearance is rewarded promptly, as usual, with a treat for Maisie. Silverman doesn’t consider grooming a luxury, but “the pet might be,” he acknowledged. He said he takes Maisie for groomings every six weeks out of necessity. “If I were strapped I’d—what? Have her wait another week? Cut it myself? I don’t think so.”
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Chelsea Now photo by Shoshanna Bettencourt