In Business: Bark & Beyond in Grand Rapids Aims to Meet Community’s Pet Needs

Bark and Beyond Pet Supplies in Grand Rapids had its grand opening in August 2023. The store’s owners, Jennifer Hendrickson and Amy Wirtanen, followed their passions and opened a business that they believed filled a gap in the area and would meet the community’s needs.

“My friend Jen and I were on a girls trip and we were kind of talking about what we wanted to do with our lives and what our purpose was,” explained Wirtanen, “and it all came back to pets and animals, and that’s kind of how we got started and just dug into it and decided we’re going to open up a pet supply store because we didn’t have one here.”

Opening the pet supply shop was the right decision for the owners because they wanted to make pet shopping easier for their community due to their love for animals.

“I think we provide a lot of resources that was not available before as far as products for animals,” said Wirtanen. “And we also save people from having to drive quite far and it kind of keeps it local, keeps people from shopping online so much and having to order online, having to drive an hour and a half.”

Both owners say a lot of thought is put into selecting high-quality items at Bark and Beyond.

“We have specialty food, things that you would typically have to order online,” said Hendrickson. “Medicine for chickens, medicine for reptiles. Supplements that you can’t find around here. We can also custom order for our customers if they need. So we are a personal, like, based service. If they come in, we can help them with whatever they need to get for their animal.”

The owners also say that since they’ve been open, many customers have expressed their appreciation for having the store in the area.

“We opened end of August and even today, we are still just as busy, customers thanking us for being here, for being open,” added Wirtanen. “And we still meet new people every day.”

The store will be hosting a live snake event on Friday, April 19 at 4 p.m.