Change, change, change

OK, I admit it, I've been gone from the blogosphere for an extended period of time. Honestly, it wasn't on purpose, I've just been lazy. Well, I've been busy too but...ugh...mostly lazy.  Here we go -

The title today is "Change, change, change." Never has there been a more appropriate title. The first quarter of 2010 has seen so much change at Zane + Zara's and now Zspa. Let's start with Zspa. Zspa was a difficult birth so say the least. It wasn't just breach it was oversized and clawing its way to stay in the womb.  If it could go wrong it went wrong and then soiled itself just so you didn't want to fix whatever issue had popped up. It was a brutal process. Opening should have been in October and managed to stretch until the end of January. Budgets came, went and then burst into flames just for good measure. Much in the way of foul language was expended. But as the french say, "c'est le vie."  Zspa did manage to open. Soon after opening we brought onboard a groomer of some note, Chad Jensen, and things began to click nicely. Zspa quickly began to gain a loyal following and some nice Yelp reviews for its, shall we say, free-range style of grooming. While we do own cages, very nice cages I might point out, we never really used them. Dogs that were waiting to be picked up simply hung out in the front of the spa and mingled. It was nice and relaxed. Yet something was off.

The space was simply to large to handle just grooming but was too small to offer the obvious choice of boarding. We needed to rethink our business strategy and quickly. We fell back on what we had wanted to do in the very beginning: offer retail and grooming in one space. That was the original plan for the space at 2205 until we allowed ourselves to be nudged into opening Zspa at 2211. It was now going to be the plan for 2211. John pulled out his tape measure and figured he could fit 85-90% of Zane + Zara's into the empty space available at 2211. There was a short, very concise, negotiation with the landlord and the move began. Zane + Zara's and Zspa were going to merge into one location, 2211 W Roscoe St, and Z3 was going to be born.

The heavy lifting was completed in about 3 days. That brought over about 75% of Z+Z and then we became, well, distracted. Truth is, we've been distracted every since. While the new space is very 'pulled together' and organized the old space looks like a scene from Saving Private Ryan sans the bodies. Next week will be the week that changes all of that. We'll go in and clean out the space, mop the floors and leave it ready to rent. Right now it just looks like it needs assistance from the Red Cross.

So, how's business, you ask? Honestly, while we got to where we are by taking a circuitous route, things could not be better. The combined store/spa has turned out to be the good idea we originally thought. The spa continues to grow its clientele and the store is just as good as it ever was. I think many people saw the closing of 2205 as a terrible thing. But as soon as we get to discussing it, I believe they see the logic of the merger and cease to view it as, "Zane + Zara's is CLOSED!" The service is still great, we still have an amazing selection of wonderful toys and the food and treats are all above reproach.

Change, change, change...to many are bad things. They are upsetting and unsettling. For Zane + Zara's and Zspa: change, change, change have all been good things. There's a fresh skin and a time to shake off the old and embrace the new. Come in and say hello to an old friend. Take a look at our version of grooming and reacquaint yourself with all of the things that make Zane + Zara's a cool place to shop for your furry friend.

PS
And while it has been totally unintentional, Zspa has become THE place to have your cat groomed. Now most would consider cats and grooming an oxymoron. It evidently is not. From the looks of it, there is a huge population of felines incapable of doing the job themselves. Where are they turning? Zspa and the talents of Naoko and Chad Jensen. Unexpected, yes but even a cat needs a day at the spa every now and then.