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Melissa Mautz opened the new natural pet food store Pet Wants Lex on South Ashland Avenue. PHOTO BY ROBBIE CLARK
Many of us love our dogs just like a member of the family. We try to feed them the best food we can. For some, that means skipping brands with fancy names and appealing packaging but which may have been processed in a foreign country and loaded with gluten, preservatives, chemicals, dyes and processed animal by-products you don’t even want to know about.
An all-natural pet food store is opening in Chevy Chase at 321 South Ashland Ave., near the corner of Euclid Avenue. Pet Wants Lex, aka the Urban Feed Market, is in a soft-opening phase now but plans a grand opening the weekend of Feb. 14 - 15.
Melissa Mautz, a first-time business operator, co-owns the new store with her parents. Mautz got the business idea from friends in Cincinnati who operate a similar store. They are both promoting a line of fresh, natural dog and cat foods that are free of gluten, corn, soy and wheat.
“We have dog food formulas like chicken, salmon or lamb mixed with brown rice. We also have puppy and lean formulas and another that is grain-free and includes buffalo or duck,” said Mautz, during a recent visit to her small shop. There are also cat food formulas for adult cats, lean cats and kittens. She also plans to add a small pet products retail section.
Mautz chose her store site because of its location. “This is Chevy Chase, the heart of Lexington, I think. I looked in Woodland Triangle and the Jefferson Street area too, but this spot just happened to open up and I thought, ‘Man, I’m going to have to grab that right now.’” She and her husband live in the nearby Kenwick neighborhood and Mautz says she could easily ride her bike to work.
The food comes from a company called Ohio Pet Foods, which has operated a plant in Lisbon, Ohio, near Columbus, since 1978. “The owners are a third generation family in the business,” Mautz said. “They’ve never had a recall.” The plant has not included any beef or beef by-products in its formulas since 2002. All poultry and other meats are purchased on the basis of quality, not price, according to OPF’s website.
Fresh is the key selling point in the Pet Wants Lex store. “The food is sold by the pound. I put in my order with the factory once a month. They make it, I go get it and provide it to my customers. Your current dog food may have been sitting on shelves in a warehouse or store for months. Mine was just made. It’s the freshest you can get for your dog or cat,” Mautz claimed.
Mautz offers to look up the ingredients in your current pet food and do a side-by-side comparison with the ingredients in the Pet Wants Lex formulas she sells.
Andrew Carey, a friend of Mautz, owns an 80-pound black lab, coon hound mix named Owen who had been suffering with allergy issues, possibly caused by his food. “Melissa told us she thought her food would be really great for him,” Carey said. “In two weeks (the problem) pretty much cleared up. He has a nice shiny coat and he doesn’t seem to itch any more. He loves it; gobbles it right up.”
Mautz will deliver pet food free of charge, and in a “green” way, to your home, workplace or even your doggie daycare. It will arrive in jute bags. Jute is a versatile vegetable fiber that is spun into course threads and used in different natural products.
Mautz is originally from Morgantown, W.V., and moved to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky where she earned a Psychology degree in 2006. After graduation, she worked in the service industry. Some may remember Mautz from her seven-year stint at Mellow Mushroom Pizza near the UK campus.
As for the upcoming grand opening, Pet Wants Lex hopes to have the Lexington Humane Society or Woodstock Spay & Neuter Clinic bring dogs and cats for adoption that day. As Mautz sees it – “What a great day to adopt a pet – Valentine’s Day.”
Pet Wants Lex
321 S. Ashland Ave.
(859) 948-3333