Dog Krazy co-owners Nancy and Chris Guinn. (Photo courtesy of Dog Krazy)
Chris and Nancy Guinn are still gnawing at the bones of a defunct pet store chain to fuel the expansion of their own pet retail business.
The husband-and-wife duo are opening their latest Dog Krazy store in the Richmond region by taking over another former Pet Valu outpost.
This time the couple has inked a lease for a 4,800-square-foot storefront at 1352 Gaskins Road in the Gayton Crossing Shopping Center. It’ll be the Guinns’ seventh Dog Krazy location and the second time they’ve taken over a local Pet Valu shell to grow their footprint. Pet Valu exited that location among other local outposts in the wake of the company’s 2020 announcement it would end U.S operations.
Chris Guinn said old Pet Valu locations are prime for expansion because they don’t need much in the way of renovations or new equipment to get up and running fast.
“Pet Valus were for us quick and easy move-ins. They have the self-wash (pet wash) there already. This one has all the shelving as well,” he said of the Gayton Crossing space. “All we have to do is paint it our colors, stock the shelves and we’re ready to go.”
In addition to retail sales of things like pet food, toys and leashes, Dog Krazy offers self- and full-service grooming for dogs and cats.
“We’re the neighborhood pet supply store and that’s what we want to be known as,” Guinn said.
Dog Krazy is planning to open by early August in the space near Gayton Crossing’s Kroger. Also at the western Henrico shopping center, yoga studio Whole Heart Space recently opened, and kids fitness center chain KidStrong is planning to open a location.
Nancy Guinn and Piglet.
Dog Krazy entered the Richmond market in 2017 with a location at 3310 W. Cary St. in Carytown. A Short Pump location at 3520 Pump Road followed in 2020 and the company took over its first local former Pet Valu in 2021, at 3040 Stony Point Road in the Stony Point Village shopping center.
There are also Dog Krazy locations in Stafford and Spotsylvania, where the company is based, in addition to a store in downtown Fredericksburg.
Nancy Guinn founded Dog Krazy in 2006 in Fredericksburg. The store was inspired by her pet bulldog Piglet, who died in 2016.
Pet Valu exited the Richmond market as part of a mass shuttering of its stores in the United States. When the company announced in late 2020 that it would close its brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S., it had seven stores in the Richmond region.
Dog Krazy co-owners Nancy and Chris Guinn. (Photo courtesy of Dog Krazy)
Chris and Nancy Guinn are still gnawing at the bones of a defunct pet store chain to fuel the expansion of their own pet retail business.
The husband-and-wife duo are opening their latest Dog Krazy store in the Richmond region by taking over another former Pet Valu outpost.
This time the couple has inked a lease for a 4,800-square-foot storefront at 1352 Gaskins Road in the Gayton Crossing Shopping Center. It’ll be the Guinns’ seventh Dog Krazy location and the second time they’ve taken over a local Pet Valu shell to grow their footprint. Pet Valu exited that location among other local outposts in the wake of the company’s 2020 announcement it would end U.S operations.
Chris Guinn said old Pet Valu locations are prime for expansion because they don’t need much in the way of renovations or new equipment to get up and running fast.
“Pet Valus were for us quick and easy move-ins. They have the self-wash (pet wash) there already. This one has all the shelving as well,” he said of the Gayton Crossing space. “All we have to do is paint it our colors, stock the shelves and we’re ready to go.”
In addition to retail sales of things like pet food, toys and leashes, Dog Krazy offers self- and full-service grooming for dogs and cats.
“We’re the neighborhood pet supply store and that’s what we want to be known as,” Guinn said.
Dog Krazy is planning to open by early August in the space near Gayton Crossing’s Kroger. Also at the western Henrico shopping center, yoga studio Whole Heart Space recently opened, and kids fitness center chain KidStrong is planning to open a location.
Nancy Guinn and Piglet.
Dog Krazy entered the Richmond market in 2017 with a location at 3310 W. Cary St. in Carytown. A Short Pump location at 3520 Pump Road followed in 2020 and the company took over its first local former Pet Valu in 2021, at 3040 Stony Point Road in the Stony Point Village shopping center.
There are also Dog Krazy locations in Stafford and Spotsylvania, where the company is based, in addition to a store in downtown Fredericksburg.
Nancy Guinn founded Dog Krazy in 2006 in Fredericksburg. The store was inspired by her pet bulldog Piglet, who died in 2016.
Pet Valu exited the Richmond market as part of a mass shuttering of its stores in the United States. When the company announced in late 2020 that it would close its brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S., it had seven stores in the Richmond region.