Ware and Diania Clark first opened the business on Cincinnati-Dayton Road in 2000, eventually moving it to a Breiel Boulevard storefront but shutting that down in 2015 when Ware moved away after her husband’s job promotion.
The couple returned earlier this year to care for family members and Ware, who previously had wanted to relocate to downtown, decided to relaunch the business there and work to recapture previous clientele.
“We wanted to come downtown because of all the new things and everything that’s going on down here,” she said. “My dad grew up here and he graduated from Middletown High School … it’s our home.”
Ware said she is grateful for not only the city’s support of new small business, but also scheduled events that encourage business-customer interaction in the downtown area, such as the recently sold-out Women’s Wine and Chocolate Walk.
“It allows me to be more involved, too, with the community, and I like that,” she said.
Having a downtown storefront instead of a location that is part of a strip mall affords D&D Doggy Wash Grooming the opportunity to attract customers via creative window displays, she said.
Services at the business include full-service grooming including teeth cleaning and scaling, special baths for skin and fleas, walk-in nail and face trims and gland expressing.
Ware runs the business with daughter Megan Metcalf and daughter-in-law Shayna Ware and although it’s 800 square feet compared to the 1,000 square feet of the previous location, it’s worked well to handle the customers who have flocked back to the business.
Those customers include Johanna Adams, who ensures her 14-year-old daughter’s three cockapoos are bathed and groomed monthly.
“I’ve been through a pile of groomers and Dena’s the only one that can do it right,” she said. “She does a perfect job.”
It helps, Adams said, that D&D Doggy Wash Grooming also is willing to accept and groom pets who are seriously ill.
“A lot of groomers don’t want to deal with that,” she said.
For more information, call 513-217-0327 or visit www.dandddoggywash.ouronlineappointment.com.
About the Author
