Pets Supplies Plus celebrates 20 years in Lapeer - Thecountypress

Pet Supplies Plus, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, will be holding a sale this week, Wednesday through Saturday, which will see the store marking every item of inventory down by 20 percent. Owner Joe Arcori (left) and team leader Frank Ostrowski each expressed their gratitude for the support of the community over the years. Photos by Alex Petrie LAPEER — Having been in business for two full decades now, the owner of Pet Supplies Plus maintains the same commitments he made in 1997, which are to provide exceptional customer service and build lasting relationships with his customers and the community. And it’s exactly that commitment that has allowed the store to thrive in Lapeer.

This month, Pet Supplies Plus is celebrating its 20th anniversary, a historic occasion for any business, and one that owner Joe Arcori is proud to ring in.

“We’re still a privately owned, locally-owned Michigan-based franchise, and our big thing is customer service,” said Arcori. “That’s something we’re very proud of. We still help our customers carry items to their car, we’ll do special orders, you know, that’s what we’re all about. We’re very customer service-oriented. That’s kind of our motto here.”

The Pet Supplies Plus staff, consisting of 15 employees, is dedicated to providing incomparable customer service to not only their human patrons, but the pets that visit the store as well. Team leader Frank Ostrowski (center) says that the pets are one of the best parts of the job, and that he’s seen a variety of animals come through the doors, including a few monkeys. In order to help celebrate the 20th anniversary and thank the Lapeer community for their continued support, Arcori and his staff plan on having a sale this week, Wednesday through Saturday, during which everything in the store will be marked at 20 percent off.

Though the store has flourished as an animal-oriented business, offering everything from dog food to exotic reptiles, the operation first began as Lapeer Food Center, which was later converted into two businesses — Sav-A-Lot and Pet Supplies Plus. As fate would have it, Pet Supplies Plus proved to be the more enduring of the two, and has continued to prosper throughout the years. After proving to be a profitable business, Arcori actually bought two more Pet Supplies Plus franchises. One in Ortonville, and one in Farmington Hills.

When asked what has kept his customers coming back for 20 years, Arcori smiled and reasoned, “I think it’s probably multiple things. Variety for sure. We sell labels you can’t buy in grocery stores. The holistic and grain-free, natural foods have become very, very popular in the industry, and popular with pet owners. There are items you can’t buy anywhere else around here. There are 25, 30 different labels of specialty dog foods. And, you know, people really care about their pets and what they eat.”

Along with providing the kinds of products pets not only want, but need, Arcori says another huge draw is the fact that the store allows customers to bring their pets inside with them.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Frank Ostrowski, the store’s team leader. “Somebody actually brought in their monkey the other day. And that wasn’t even the first time somebody had brought in a monkey. We’ve had it happen a couple times.”

Home to 15 employees that are dedicated to providing that same exceptional customer service that has kept the store in favor with pet owners from Lapeer County and beyond, Pet Supplies Plus offers everything a pet could need. Products and services include grooming, low-cost veterinary clinics on Saturdays, vaccinations, fish, reptiles, birds, guinea pigs, chew toys, aquariums, terrariums, and plenty more.

Arcori has also made it a point to give back to the community that surrounds him, donating to various charities and service clubs, including the Lions Club, and offers adoptions, with animal rescues on the second Saturday of every month in conjunction with Paradise Animal Rescue and Kreacher Konnections of Flushing.

“We really love working with people and their pets,” said Ostrowski.

For more information, visit http://ift.tt/14orEZV or stop in to the store today, located at 873 S. Main St. in Lapeer.

— Alex Petrie