Cesar Lara opened The Pet Shed two years ago with his wife, Yvette.[/caption]The mission of The Pet Shed extends far beyond the convenience of customers having pet food delivered directly to their homes, owner Cesar Lara said.
Lara, a Greater Houston area native who runs the business with his wife, Yvette, said he has been around animals all of his life. His earliest pet memories include his maternal grandmother—who bred show cocker spaniels—cooking food for her dogs, he said.
“She would cook their food every single day,” Lara said. “Now, that’s the biggest thing: a homemade diet.”
A bulldogs lover by nature who owns two bulldogs, Lara said he began breeding and showing bulldogs as a young adult. He became increasingly aware of the importance of a pet’s diet when two of his bulldogs died due to stomach tumors.
“It was the dog food,” Lara said. “What I thought was a good dog food—was supposedly American-made—a lot of the ingredients were sourced overseas from like China and stuff. That’s when I started really digging into the nutrition.”
Equipped with Lara’s knowledge of animal nutrition and desire to own a high-end feed store, the couple opened a brick-and-mortar location of The Pet Shed two years ago.
Lara said he was motivated to inform customers about the importance of pet nutrition and make high-quality food readily available.
After about a year of the delivery service drawing most of The Pet Shed’s clientele, the Laras decided to reformat the company as a delivery only service.
Lara, whose day job consists of instrument design for Wood Group Mustang, said the current business model enables The Pet Shed to best serve its customers while also allowing him to work a full-time job. Yvette handles the business’s operations by day, and Lara makes most of the deliveries in the evening, he said.
Lara said The Pet Shed aims to set itself apart from other companies through its customer service. The Laras remain accessible for customers after normal business hours and on weekends. Lara’s expertise also allows customers to consult with him as a pet nutrition resource, he said.
The Pet Shed provides free delivery to customers in Katy and the surrounding areas. Lara said the company is focused on purchasing American-made and -sourced products from other family-run businesses.
Aside from carefully selecting food providers based upon reputation and geographical location, The Pet Shed considers ingredients to be of the utmost importance, he said.
The company specializes in human-grade pet food and Lara urges pet owners to educate themselves on the pet food production process.
“You don’t want any byproducts,” he said.
As The Pet Shed continues to grow its customer base to include a larger delivery area and additional types of animals, Lara said he envisions moving back toward the brick-and-mortar business model at some point.
“There [are] the people that want to come in and grab it [and] see the product in person,” Lara said. “So, for that reason alone, I think we will eventually open another brick and mortar. I’m not too sure [about the timeline]. The big picture is to increase our [delivery] area.”
