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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2011)
•business’ AUGUST 19, 2011 W W W .JUSTOUT.CO M M ARTY DAVIS J* 1 J2 Friends Fur-ever Canine Utopia brings healthy pet food to Vancouver BY RYAN J. PRADO While it’s been said that all dogs go to heaven, these days pampered pooches and frisky felines alike are pawing it to Canine Utopia, a new urban pet store and health food boutique in Vancouver, Wash. Alter Evan Smith and his partner Jason Pickering discovered that their dogs Dunkin and Hera were allergic to the foods they’d been eating, the couple sought out alterna tives lor the itchy canines. The problem was that the Vancouver area didn’t have any quality pet food stores to shop in, and cross ing the bridge to Portland became a tire some trek. “We decided we couldn’t be the only peo ple in town that have pets with allergies,” Smith explains. On June 4, Smith and Pickering took the plunge and opened Canine Utopia in Van couver’s revamped Uptown Village. The store carries grain-free, holistic foods, treats, bed ding and other healthy pet options. Thus far, Canine Utopia’s attention to not only prod uct details, but also its focus on sustaining the local economy, has resulted in steady business since opening just two months ago. “People are realizing we don’t carry the loods produced by the big names,” Smith says. “Our dog treats are produced out of Portland, all of our flea and tick medication comes from Vancouver. We source from Eu gene, Springfield... Anywhere locally we could get it is where we went first.” Smith and Pickering toured regional dog and cat food manufacturers, as well as toy manufacturers, to ensure they’d be selling top-of-the-line of holistic products. “We saw them make the food, and Tactu ally watched one of the employees eat it,” Smith says. “I realized that if he ate it, then my dog would be fine eating it.” The store does not, however, sell canines. Smith refers those who would like to own a pet to their local humane shelter. But for folks looking for a safer chew toy alterna tive, for instance, Canine Utopia carries dog toys made from boiled wool, rather than cotton, so that it can be digested, and save you from a barking big vet bill. Add in the shop’s fancy digs—rebuilt en tirely by Smith, that it features over 95 percent recycled store fixtures and that its website is run entirely on wind power, and there’s plenty to love about this new addi tion to Vancouver. “The best compliment that we’ve had was people asking if we were a chain,” says Smith. “Although I have to tell you, I never picked up a hammer until April.” one employee. Today, Barreto employs two optometrists and a staff of 16. What started out as a small community practice is now bursting at the seams, pushing Barreto to raise the bar and consider expanding. “I started out as a small community office Canine Utopia is located at 2 3 0 9 M a in St., serving the Irvington, Laurelhurst and Vancouver, Wash. For more information, call Alameda areas,” Barreto says. But he soon 3 6 0 -7 3 7 -7 S S I or v isit k9utopia.com. realized people were coming from farther and farther away to visit him. So he adjusted his mission. “I wanted to be the place to go in Oregon,” he ex plains.“! wanted to be the Nord strom of opticals, where people went to get good quality eye care and service.” Barreto attributes much of the business’s growth to old-fash ioned face-to-face networking Gay-owned optometry practice and the support of the gay and celebrates 20 years lesbian population. “We couldn’t have made it this BY ERIN ROOK far without everybody,” Barreto In a time when many businesses are strug says. “The gay and lesbian community is so gling against an uncertain economy, one gay- loyal and everyone talks among themselves. owned optometry practice is thriving. Eyes! We just want to give back to that and thank on Broadway just celebrated 20 years of pro everybody for that.” viding vision care in Northeast Portland, But those relationships don’t exist by default. thanks to the support of the gay and lesbian Barreto is involved in the community, regularly community. attending functions and fundraisers for organi When Tom Barreto, 50, opened Eyes! on zations such as Basic Rights Oregon, Equity Broadway in August 1991, his practice had only Foundation and Cascade AIDS Project. Community Vision “People tease me that I know so many people in Portland,” Barreto says. “But I’m out there. People remember that next time they need their eyes checked.” As a result, his business grew steadily through referrals—so much so, he says, that he had to cut back on advertising for a while and hire more doctors. Still, Barreto is always looking for ways to provide eye care to more people, whether by expanding his own business or through his yearly trips to developing countries with Vol unteer Optométrie Services to Humanity. Barreto has volunteered with the organiza tion since 1995, bringing much-needed eye care to places such as Nicaragua, the Philip pines and Peru, where it often impacts peo ple’s ability to earn a living. “A lot of people are farsighted, so reading glasses make a huge difference,” Barreto says, noting the generosity of Portland patients who donate their old glasses. “A lot of these people are illiterate, they don’t really read but they do a lot of handwork, making blankets and crafts to sell at market.... It’s a huge, huge difference for them." J0] Eyes! on Broadway (2300 N E Broadway) is celebrating its 20th anniversary by g iv in g aw ay weekly p rize packages throughout September. To enter, "like” the business on Facebook. 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