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Words: Zena Le Roux | Images: Supplied

Bark Avenue has been wowing customers and their furry friends for a bit over three years. They have a friendly, well-trained and experienced grooming team. Owner Rochelle Viljoen tells us more.

How did your business start?

We’ve been renting out the premises as a veterinary clinic for quite a while. When the vet decided it was time to move to bigger premises up the road, my mind started working about what we could do with the open space. It was already zoned for an animal clinic and therefore it made sense financially to continue running an animal business as we didn’t have to change a lot. I also love creating jobs and jumped at the opportunity to open my third business. We opened our doors in September 2014.

Why did you choose this area to set up shop?

As I already owned the property, it was an obvious choice. I also saw a gap in the market, as, personally, I wasn’t happy with the service I got from other dog groomers in the area.

How did you find your premises?

I noticed that the house was for sale and I decided to buy it because of its location. It also has business rights – so it was the perfect fit.

Why are they ideally suited to your business?

I thought that the area had a lot of potential when I first bought the property in 1996. I had a feeling that business-wise there might be a lot of expansion in this area. Here I can also have the washing and kennel areas separate from the grooming area, which provides a more relaxed environment for both the groomers and the pets.

Who are your neighbours?

We have an office block on the one side and on the other side, we have a residential area that is currently being zoned for a future apartment block.

What are the shop rental/sales prices like in this area?

We’re very lucky to have business zoning rights for this type of business on our residential property. Rental prices in the area would be around R10,000 for 80m2.

How many people visit your business each day?

We have around 20 to 30 customers per day.

Do you have any expansion plans?

We don’t have any expansion plans because the business is doing well and we’re happy with what we’ve achieved.

Do you operate online as well?

We have an active Facebook page (goo.gl/jh6chc), but no website. This is just because taking bookings over the phone works better for us at this stage.

What’s your most popular service?

Grooming for all dog types is definitely our most popular service.

Bark Avenue
012 460 5422 / 060 743 1901
goo.gl/jh6chc

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