New Bellefonte-area pet supply store set to open in December
A new pet supply store is nearing its opening date at Titan Energy Park, giving cat and dog owners one more place to shop in the Nittany Valley Region.
First-time business owner Sheena Kirkwood plans to host a grand opening for Felicity’s Pet Supplies on Dec. 11. The business is named after Felicity, a Plott hound and pit bull mix Kirkwood adopted from Centre County PAWS in 2018.
“Just about everybody in my family is an entrepreneur, so I kind of have that entrepreneurship in my blood. Since high school, that’s always been my dream — to open my own business,” Kirkwood said. “The biggest struggle I had was just finding my niche and finding what I would want to do for the rest of my life where I know that I would be happy doing that every day. I think I found it.”
Kirkwood worked in manufacturing for 11 years before switching careers. She had always been passionate about animals as she grew up in State College, but began exploring a new start shortly after adopting Felicity.
Her search for a retail space began in March. The revitalized Titan Energy Park served as an ideal location given the lack of pet supplies stores in the area and the proximity to her Bellefonte home.
“You have a lot of people with pets and they have to travel to State College just to get their supplies, if they’re not ordering online,” Kirkwood said. “I just felt like it was something that was needed and I felt like I could fill that need for a lot of people.”
Kirkwood plans to hire three people to work at the about 3,200-square-foot business at 2022 Axemann Road. The lease is for three years.
The store will offer food, treat and accessories — including collars, leashes and toys — for cats and dogs at the beginning. Each bag of food is free of corn, wheat, soy, corn syrup and other ingredients.
The business is scheduled to be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
“A lot of people ask, ‘Are you nervous?’ I don’t really have that; most of the nerves came at the very beginning where you start going through the process of making a business plan and leaving this job that you’ve been at for 11 years,” Kirkwood said. “But now that I’m in it and I’m doing it, I don’t really have that. I almost feel like this is what I was supposed to do. It feels like a perfect fit.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.