A Niverville business is getting ready to expand to its second storefront. RuffMutts, which opened its first retail location just two years ago, is on the verge of opening a new shop in Altona. It’s a big step for the locally owned and operated company.

“Once we saw that our business model worked here in Niverville, we’ve been keeping our eyes out for other possible locations,” says Guy Britten, who runs the business with his wife, Amanda MacLean. “We were actually approached by one of the owners of the Altona Mall, so that started the ball rolling. It’s a great location with required nothing but a coat of paint.”

Many people would look at the world around us and wonder why now, in the midst of a global pandemic that has handicapped the local economy, is a good time to pull the trigger.

But Britten points out that opportunity dictates these sorts of decision, and the opportunity was right.

“We looked at opening a RuffMutts in other locations, but finding the right place at the right price isn’t easy,” he says. “For Altona, the decision was made before we went code red and before these latest restrictions. We like the population base they have. It’s similar to Niverville.”

If everything goes according to plan, the new location will open this upcoming Monday. The main point of uncertainty is whether the remaining stock arrives on time.

The flagship store in Niverville sells pet food and other products. It also features a self-washing station, a dog daycare, and grooming services.

At least for now, Altona’s store will only sell pet food and merchandise.

“This made it easier for us to move in and set up quickly, and minimize lease hold improvements and other expenses,” says Britten. “Expansion into those other areas is a possibility in the future.”

Now that the process of getting the new location up and running is nearly finished, Britten can look back and reflect on everything that’s needed to happen behind the scenes to get to this point.

“Opening another store takes some planning and time. We definitely needed more support from our current staff to make this happen,” he says. “There are lots of considerations, and certainly there are nervous moments doing this. One reason, believe it or not, is the curiosity to see if the model we built will work elsewhere. It’s no secret what we do when it comes to the selection of the food we sell; it’s basically logic and a bit of math.”

The main ingredient in the business’s success, he says, is their choice of pet food, which is exclusively sourced from Canadian companies and Canadian ingredients.

“We spend a lot of time researching pet food and making sure the food we bring in is the best, not just in terms of quality but also in terms of price. That way you can get the best food available at your budget… People are always looking for quality pet food, and the fact they can save money with RuffMutts makes us a great option for pet parents, no matter the situation.”