Local pet grooming shop has grand re-opening in new location

NEW WATERFORD, Ohio (WKBN) — A business in East Palestine has left downtown for a larger, more accessible location and had its grand opening in New Waterford on Sunday.

Anna Hostetler opened Gabby & Gerti’s Soapy Paws in East Palestine in November 2022. She says its grand re-opening at its new location is already drawing in new customers.

“It’s more spacious, and I think people are more comfortable coming here than on the main street in town,” Hostetler said.

Though the grooming shop opened about three months before the train derailment in East Palestine, she says that didn’t have an impact on her business.

“It didn’t affect our business at all because everyone has pets and they still take care of them. So, that wasn’t why we moved,” she said.

Hostetler says their landlord in East Palestine was selling the building where the business was operating. So, she knew she would need to relocate.

She found the new location on State Route 14 and started renovating the space in April.

“There was a lot of work to the place because it was an old fireplace store,” she said.

She started grooming out of the new location in May while still renovating the building, and this week she opened the storefront.

Hostetler says the new location is about triple the size of the previous space.

Gabby & Gerti’s does full grooming on dogs, cars, rabbits and guinea pigs and nail trimmings for reptiles and some smaller animals.

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