YORKTON – Yorkton Pet Valu celebrated its grand reopening on the morning of Feb. 14, marking an exciting milestone for the local franchise.
"We want to expand our offerings of products for the most part. Our other store was very small and we couldn't offer any more variety and so this one offers us a lot of space to do more events and to offer more products," said Sarah Kowalchuk, the Franchisee of Yorkton Pet Valu, in a scrum with reporters at the event.
The new, larger store boasts several notable features, including a permanent adoption room.
"Any rescue that comes can have the adoption room at any time and host their animals here," said Kowalchuk.
Additionally, Yorkton Pet Valu now offers a self-serve dog wash, a unique feature within the Pet Valu chain.
"The dog wash is brand new and actually we're the first Pet Valu to have this style of dog wash," Kowalchuk noted. A groomer is also available on-site for customers wishing to book grooming services for their dogs.
Expanding its range of pets, the new enclosures will house hamsters, guinea pigs, budgies, and rabbits among other small animals.
"We're just really happy about our new space and that it's going to be bigger and better than we've had before," said Kowalchuk.
Juanita Polegi, Executive Director of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the positive impact of the expansion.
"It's always exciting to see a store that's been successful expand and grow. That creates commerce for the city. It has people employed. It's just a wonderful thing to see when a small business can expand like this," said Polegi.
Yorkton's Mayor, Aaron Kienle, also shared his excitement about the expansion.
"The footprint has doubled. Generally that would mean more staff which means more jobs. More opportunity for people coming from out of town to get more product and better selection. For our local shopping it's an enhancement for sure," said Kienle.
"Any time a business reaches that ten-year mark—I think Pet Valu is at 12 or 13 years—it's a special thing because that's a hard milestone to hit. Any time there's a renovation or expansion it's almost like when you start it again—just that sense of excitement and something to get your customers excited about as well—so this is a good thing for Yorkton for sure," added Kienle.
