Atlantis Aquatic Gardens in Terre Haute has a small zoo inside its store for shoppers and their families to enjoy. The zoo has featured an American alligator, giant boa constrictors, huge tortoises, a family of degu rodents, a hedgehog family, bird aviary, koi pond, macaw parrot and more. Photo provided
LOGANSPORT — Sixty-six percent of households — about 86 million — in the United States own a pet, the American Pet Products Association found in its 2023-2024 National Pet Owners Survey.
With this large market, there is there is plenty of demand for not only pets, but pet food and other related products. The market is not limitless, however, as the United Consumer Financial Services says competition can be fierce, and it can be hard for independentlyowned businesses to stand out among nationwide chains.
Despite the challenges, multiple independent pet retailers across Indiana are showing it can be done.
Atlantis Aquatic Gardens is a pet retailer in Terre Haute that specializes in tropical fresh and salt water fish and related supplies, along with reptiles. The store has been operating in Terre Haute since 1975, and stemmed from owner Bill Heyman’s tropical fish hobby. Alongside the animals for sale, Heyman said Atlantis Aquatic Gardens also serves as a free zoo for the community, as they have several exotic animals on display.
“We’ve been (a free zoo) for many years and back in the day, and that’s why we’re a USDA (licensed) facility also, we had… well, two lions and a tiger, and that was at our old store,” Heyman said. “Since we’ve moved over here, we’ve had a few other exotic creatures, but I’m getting older and the care of those animals is pretty demanding.”
Heyman said they are busy and the store generates income, but they put almost everything earn back into the business. As a result of the internet, he said business has been slowing down, but they still try to remain competitive with online prices.
“I have to know what the prices of things are on Amazon and eBay so that we can adjust our price,” Heyman said. “We won’t always be cheaper, but we have to be pretty darn close because people just won’t buy things anymore, especially with their phone in their hand unless it’s pretty close.”
MAP pricing has also helped their business stay competitive, Heyman said. This means that prices across multiple places stay the same and manufacturers will not sell to locations that discount their products too much. The result of this, he said, is manufactures adjusting their margins so businesses like his can be competitive. Buying items in volume has also helped their store and its buying power, he said.
“[Big store chains] they buy from, well, they have their own distribution network, but the manufacturers decide who they sell to and how much they sell for,” Heyman said. “Most of the big manufacturers have leveled it out so that everybody gets a chance to sell the products, small stores and big stores.”
Similarly to Atlantis Aquatic Gardens, Dirty Paws Pet Shop and Grooming in Peru chose to take less profit margin so it can compete with big box stores. Owner Michael Graves said taking less profit keeps their prices low so they can compete, but there are still times a big box store is able to sell an item cheaper than what they can purchase it for. He said they are now at a point where they are able to at least meet the prices of big box stores for the majority of their items.
“… that’s usually the biggest challenge is trying to find that kind of happy medium of being in business to make money, but at the same aspect, trying to offer a product that we feel is a fair competitive price,” Graves said.
Graves first started his grooming business around a decade ago, but began selling pets and pet items when they took over a closing pet store in Peru in 2020. The shop has a wide selection of pets, including birds, rabbits and hamsters, snakes and lizards, and various fish.
In addition to his love of animals and way with dogs, Graves said he started his grooming business to change people’s perspective on it because many have had bad experiences. He said they offer a personal touch by trying every item before they sell it, and will give items that companies send to friends and family for them to test out too.
“We’re very particular on the products that we sell, everything we sell, we’ve either tried it on our own animals or we’ve used it on our own animals,” Graves said. “But, we stand behind everything we sell. We don’t sell stuff here just to have a product to sell. Everything we sell, we stand behind and we’re very knowledgeable about it.”
Atlantic Aquatic Gardens, much like how Dirty Paws stands behind everything they sell, is very particular about who they hire. Heyman said they normally only hire those who are already invested in the tropical fish hobby, or who have some background knowledge or a strong interest in it. With employees like this, customers will be talking to someone that can give them advice they can count on.
Connecting and engaging with the community is another way these pet stores stand out. Pawpointmarketing.com said these practices, such as partnering with local pet shelters, can increase a pet store’s visibility and reputation. For example, Graves said Dirty Paws grooms cats and dogs at their local dog shelter and cat rescue for free, along with food and prize giveaways several times a year and parties.
Atlantis Aquatic Gardens has also gathered community support through engagement. They have collaborated with the Terre Haute Children's Museum and have made telethon events more interesting by bringing their animals, Heyman said.
“… we used to do a lot of outreach programs in the schools,” Heyman said. “I was a school teacher originally, so when I left education in the public schools, I still had an enjoyment of getting out there with kids and going into classrooms and showing them animals.”
Independent pet supply stores can also be more reliable when it comes to rarer pets and their needs. The Crawlspace in Kokomo, for example, sells feed for exotic pets like bearded dragons, snakes and spiders.
“So, we had a bearded dragon and a leopard gecko, and when we moved back to Indiana in 2019, we really had a hard time finding good feed for it unless you order online and pay the shipping supplies,” co-owner Danielle Purnell said. “So, we started breeding during COVID, and… word of mouth got around of what we had and what we could offer, and it started from there.”
Owner Cedric Purnell runs the business out of his home, providing fresh feeders that are kept in their culture until ordered. While he said running the Crawlspace out of their home has given them a challenge due to some wanting to walk around and shop, he said they see a lot of regular customers who visit at least once a week.
“… we get a lot of people, a lot of first timers that’s looking for something, the pet store or Petco’s closed… they close at like 9 o’clock,” So, we have a lot of people that are looking around, you know, that’s how they find us. They say that the pet store was closed.”
While owning an independent pet store can be challenging, it can also be very rewarding too. Graves said he enjoys interacting with different animals, and Cedric Purnell has told his wife that “the bugs are paying the bills.”
As they have been around for almost 50 years, Heyman said many in the community remember the animals Atlantis Aquatic Gardens have had throughout the years, and say they used to come in with their parents and grandparents. While he said the business has not been a hugely profitable venture, he and his wife have enough business to keep it going and enjoy what they do.
“A lot of this stuff here is not for sale, it’s just we’ve got creatures that you wouldn’t see every day and people like to bring their kids,” Heyman said. “We’ve got big moray eels and we’ve got giant turtles and a bunch of macaws that talk to you and things that make it more like an interactive zoo, and that’s gained us a lot of friends in the community, so we have a lot of support from our community. Most of the politicians in this town, most of the police officers all know us, and we have a lot of friends. So, that’s been one of the real rewards in having this business is the interaction we’ve had with the public and the support.”
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