11629 W. Broad St. in the Promenade Shops shopping center. (Jack Jacobs photo)
Short Pump’s pack of veterinary practices is growing.
A concierge-style veterinary hospital and an outpost of an out-of-state urgent care concept for pets are both planning June openings in the commercial corridor.
COTA Veterinary is preparing to open at 11629 W. Broad St. in the Promenade Shops center.
Williamsburg couple Susan and George Valashinas are behind the venture, and are betting the membership-based structure will avoid overwhelming its team with too many pets, and make the clinic a more appealing workplace. COTA plans to serve only dogs and cats.
“By doing a concierge model, we’re limiting how many clients we’re taking on and hopefully helping with that burnout factor,” said Susan, who is a veterinary doctor. “A lot of people are leaving the industry. The things causing burnout are long hours, seeing too many pets, and compassion fatigue, and we’re trying to address those.”
COTA hasn’t determined membership rates yet. The practice doesn’t currently have a specific membership cap in mind, either, and expects to figure out its limit based on how the client base shakes out. For example, it could increase the number if the membership tilts toward younger pets with fewer medical needs.
George and Susan Valashinas. (Photo courtesy of George Valashinas)
COTA, which stands for “care of the animals,” intends to set itself apart from competitors with a casual design for its lobby and treatment rooms. The company declined to share its anticipated investment in the clinic.
“We want to switch up the vet experience. We’re getting away from the sterile hospital we’ve been in. The lobby will have your local coffee shop vibe with coffee (for humans) and treats for pets,” Susan said.
The couple plan to open additional locations of COTA in the future, and are interested in more locations in the Richmond region. Susan said that amid the rise of private equity acquisitions in the veterinary industry, COTA hopes to carve a niche by allowing veterinarians to join on as minority owners of the company. While the Valashinases are the majority owners of the concept, they said there already are minority-owner veterinarians on board as well but declined to name them.
The Valashinases were formerly franchisees of Banfield Pet Hospital and operated two locations of the concept in North Carolina. They sold their franchise back to Banfield in 2016.
“We put that money into investments and set it aside for when we were ready to do something,” George said.
In the interim, they did some traveling and moved from North Carolina to Susan’s hometown of Williamsburg. While they kicked around the idea for what would become COTA for years, they started to plan in earnest within the last year.
COTA’s 2,800-square-foot space also includes the next-door suite of 11627 W. Broad St. The clinic is opening in the same shopping center Plow & Hearth recently vacated.
Urgent care chain working on Short Pump outpost
Just up the road from COTA, Florida-based UrgentVet is making a move of its own in Short Pump.
The chain of urgent care centers for pets is planning to open an outpost at 11521 W. Broad St. near Short Pump Crossing, company founder Jim Dobies said in an email.
The 3,200-square-foot space is planned to include six exam rooms as well as an in-house lab.
The center is the third that the company is working on in the region, joining a clinic at Carytown Exchange that’s expected to open in July, and a location at Winterfield Crossing in Chesterfield, which is now slated to open in June, Dobies said.
The company bills itself as a pet care option between a pet owner’s usual veterinarian and an emergency vet. The company’s clinics treat non-life-threatening conditions in dogs and cats, such as minor cuts, urinary tract problems, allergies, stings and vaccine reactions, per its website.
UrgentVet currently has 33 clinics in five states.
11629 W. Broad St. in the Promenade Shops shopping center. (Jack Jacobs photo)
Short Pump’s pack of veterinary practices is growing.
A concierge-style veterinary hospital and an outpost of an out-of-state urgent care concept for pets are both planning June openings in the commercial corridor.
COTA Veterinary is preparing to open at 11629 W. Broad St. in the Promenade Shops center.
Williamsburg couple Susan and George Valashinas are behind the venture, and are betting the membership-based structure will avoid overwhelming its team with too many pets, and make the clinic a more appealing workplace. COTA plans to serve only dogs and cats.
“By doing a concierge model, we’re limiting how many clients we’re taking on and hopefully helping with that burnout factor,” said Susan, who is a veterinary doctor. “A lot of people are leaving the industry. The things causing burnout are long hours, seeing too many pets, and compassion fatigue, and we’re trying to address those.”
COTA hasn’t determined membership rates yet. The practice doesn’t currently have a specific membership cap in mind, either, and expects to figure out its limit based on how the client base shakes out. For example, it could increase the number if the membership tilts toward younger pets with fewer medical needs.
George and Susan Valashinas. (Photo courtesy of George Valashinas)
COTA, which stands for “care of the animals,” intends to set itself apart from competitors with a casual design for its lobby and treatment rooms. The company declined to share its anticipated investment in the clinic.
“We want to switch up the vet experience. We’re getting away from the sterile hospital we’ve been in. The lobby will have your local coffee shop vibe with coffee (for humans) and treats for pets,” Susan said.
The couple plan to open additional locations of COTA in the future, and are interested in more locations in the Richmond region. Susan said that amid the rise of private equity acquisitions in the veterinary industry, COTA hopes to carve a niche by allowing veterinarians to join on as minority owners of the company. While the Valashinases are the majority owners of the concept, they said there already are minority-owner veterinarians on board as well but declined to name them.
The Valashinases were formerly franchisees of Banfield Pet Hospital and operated two locations of the concept in North Carolina. They sold their franchise back to Banfield in 2016.
“We put that money into investments and set it aside for when we were ready to do something,” George said.
In the interim, they did some traveling and moved from North Carolina to Susan’s hometown of Williamsburg. While they kicked around the idea for what would become COTA for years, they started to plan in earnest within the last year.
COTA’s 2,800-square-foot space also includes the next-door suite of 11627 W. Broad St. The clinic is opening in the same shopping center Plow & Hearth recently vacated.
Urgent care chain working on Short Pump outpost
Just up the road from COTA, Florida-based UrgentVet is making a move of its own in Short Pump.
The chain of urgent care centers for pets is planning to open an outpost at 11521 W. Broad St. near Short Pump Crossing, company founder Jim Dobies said in an email.
The 3,200-square-foot space is planned to include six exam rooms as well as an in-house lab.
The center is the third that the company is working on in the region, joining a clinic at Carytown Exchange that’s expected to open in July, and a location at Winterfield Crossing in Chesterfield, which is now slated to open in June, Dobies said.
The company bills itself as a pet care option between a pet owner’s usual veterinarian and an emergency vet. The company’s clinics treat non-life-threatening conditions in dogs and cats, such as minor cuts, urinary tract problems, allergies, stings and vaccine reactions, per its website.
UrgentVet currently has 33 clinics in five states.
The Pet industry is 223 BILLION annually and growing – both of these locations will be just fine.