HUDSON HEIGHTS — A local pet store closing next week due to rising costs plans to continue selling some of its wares online, as well as lauching a web feature to showcase local pets.
Critter Outfitter, on Pinehurst Avenue near 187th Street, is closing its storefront next week but intends to take its business to the web, as well as maintain its dog-walking and cat-sitting services in the neighborhood.
A letter to customers by owner Valerie Volinski posted on the store’s door cited overhead and the rising costs of running a business in the neighborhood as reasons for the closure.
Critter Outfitter — which sells high-end pet food as well as more whimsical supplies like studded collars and doggie raincoats — also offers on- and off-site services like grooming, doggie day care, dog-walking and cat-sitting.
Volinski, a former journalist who often wrote about animals, opened the shop in 2006 because she was tired of trekking all over the city to get supplies for her own pets.
But instead of completely throwing in the towel, she is working with a web developer to launch online sales of pet supplies like food, treats and pet-cleaning supplies.
Volinski will also continue to make sure the store has a local presence by using Critter Outfitter's Facebook page to create features such as a "Random Cuteness," which will showcase pictures of local pets twice a week.
"You can never have enough cuteness," she said.
The store is known for its mascot Mrs. Parberry, a gray tabby cat that Volinski rescued from the city’s shelter system in 2008. Mrs. Parberry, who has also her own Facebook page, has lived in the store and can sometimes be seen taking walks around the neighborhood on a leash. The owner now hopes to use the cat's celebrity to start an advice column for local pet owners.
"It's really a community-based business," Volinski said, "and will remain so."
