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MINDING YOUR
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| PET PLEASERS By Mike Ashley |
John Ellis felt his career as a tire salesman was going to
the dogs. So when he saw a feature on "Inside Edition" about a chain of bakeries
catering to dogs and cats, his entrepreneurial ears pricked up. After some due
diligence, 33-year-old Ellis knew he was barking up the right tree, and last July he
opened Bone Appetit Bakery in Virginia Beach. |
 Artwork by Michael Goodman |
Ellis offers an array of treats for dogs,
including garlic-flavored gingerbread men, "Puppa's Pizzas," 8-inch long
"Great Daner" bones and "Bark-B-Cue Ribs." The treats, of course, come
in "barker's" dozens. Now Ellis' regular customers won't settle for just any store-bought dog biscuit. "A lot of people come in and say they had other snacks in the house, but their dogs just won't eat it anymore," Ellis laughs. Ellis says Bone Appetit's recipes are 100 percent natural, using whole-wheat flour,
wheat germ, eggs, canola oil, dog-friendly chocolate carob and flavorings like peanut
butter, chicken parmesan, cheese pizza, beef, oatmeal raisin and apple cinnamon. |
| But you can't dog it behind the counter, cautions Ellis. Cooking canine
confections can take anywhere from two to four hours, depending on the recipe. "The
hardest part is rolling the dough out by hand," he says. "It's not rocket
science, though. The franchise came in and helped me set up the store and taught me how to
bake everything." Ellis and his father, Hal -- who is retired from the Navy and from a second career as a tennis professional -- put up the $50,000 to launch Bone Appetit at a shopping center near one of Virginia Beach's more affluent neighborhoods. How affluent? According to Ellis, one customer had him make a birthday cake for the family poodle. The family had already rented out a local restaurant by the beach and was planning a party for 25. They ordered fish off the menu for the dog, saving the cake for dessert. The human guests spent four hours drinking champagne and making toasts to the pet. Many customers bring their dogs into Ellis' store and let them select their own treats. "The first time they come in, the dogs' noses are in overdrive," he says. "With all the baked goods and the smell of other dogs, I always have a mop ready, but once they realize they're not at the vet, they calm down." A half-pound of about 50 treats costs $2.99, and a pound is $5.50. Individual specialty treats can range from 50 cents to $2, and a customized birthday cake is $15. Bone Appetit had sales of $80,000 in its first six months, but Ellis says he expects business to pick up when tourists flock to the region for the summer. The store is one of 15 in a franchise started in Omaha, Neb., and it is the first in Virginia. With the world of tire sales far behind him, Ellis plans to open more Bone Appetit stores in Hampton Roads: "We think the area can handle about five stores." If Ellis can make that happen, then Hampton Roads' puppy population is going to have it pretty doggone good.
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