A new pet store is set to open in Five Points.
Pet Supermarket, based in Sunrise, Fla., will open in the former Rite Aid pharmacy building at 1818 Harden St. The building has been vacant since Rite Aid closed in 2015.
The 8,750-square-foot building recently sold for about $1.3 million to an undisclosed buyer who will lease the space to Pet Supermarket, according J.P. Scurry of Colliers International, the agent for the buyer.
The pet store will occupy 7,100 square feet of the building. Another 1,650 square feet are available for another retailer or restaurant, Scurry said.
The building will be extensively remodeled, he said.
“It’s a really cool building,” Scurry said. “Right now it’s got a drop ceiling, but it’s really cavernous. The idea is to remove the drop ceilings and show the barrel roof.”
The dated facade will also be replaced, he said.
According to Pet Product News, Pet Supermarket and its sister franchise, Pet Valu, “are one-stop shops for customers, offering a broad selection of premium pet food, supplies and services sold by trained professional staff members who provide knowledgeable and friendly advice.”
Last year’s merger of the two brands created “the third-largest pet specialty retailer and the largest small-format, neighborhood pet specialty retailer in North America,” the magazine wrote, noting that the new Pet Retail Brands parent company has 930 stores in the United States and Canada.
It will be the third Midlands location for Pet Supermarket. The company has stores in Lexington and Northeast Columbia.
One of the former drugstore’s major amenities is the 32-space surface parking lot that comes with it. Scurry said that was a key component to the sale and should be leverage to land a second retailer.
“It definitely played into the value and the ability to get it leased,” he said. “The two-tenant scenario wouldn’t have been an option without it.”
Pet Supermarket will be the second pet store in Five Points. Pet Supply Plus is located across Harden Street in the Food Lion shopping center.
Rite Aid closed in May of 2015, shortly before its lease expired. At the time, the new Walgreen’s at the corner of Saluda and Blossom streets was cited as the most likely reason for the closure.
Renovation of the building will begin in early October, with an opening scheduled for the first quarter of next year, Scurry said.
“It will be great to see this building back in use and in a way that celebrates its character and with uses that should be a complement to the Five Points community,” Scurry said.
