Canine To Five is filling out its dog-care operations with new hires a little more than a year after opening a new location in Ferndale, and it has its eyes on a possible expansion in Midtown.
The dog-daycare/grooming business has hired five people at its original home on Cass Avenue just south of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. It also has built up the staff at its Ferndale location to 15 employees in its first year. The company now employs 45 people between its Ferndale location and its original home in Midtown just to keep up with rising demand.
"It took us six years to get to 60 dogs a day (for daycare services at the original location)," says Liz Blondy, owner of
Canine To Five. "It took us one year to get to 60 dogs a day in Ferndale."
Blondy explains that it took longer to build up the Detroit location because rebranding the area as Midtown was just starting when she opened in 2005 and the last recession hit just as her business was starting to gain traction. She adds her business in Ferndale is popular with people who are more comfortable in the suburbs than Detroit.
That hasn't stopped the Detroit branch from growing. The Midtown location now handles 80-100 dogs a day, which has helped the business spike its revenue by 20 percent over the last year. It is also hosting popular events, such as the Drinking With Dogs series, which kicks off this May.
Blondy is looking to further expand her business in both locations this year. She expects to hire another 4-5 people this year. She is also looking at adding more daycare and boarding space to her Midtown location and upgrading her location her Ferndale.
"We'd love to move into a new building in Ferndale," Blondy says.
Source: Liz Blondy, owner of Canine To Five
Writer: Jon Zemke
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