See Spot Leased: Pet Central Joins New York’s Pet Store Trend

There are really just two kinds of New Yorkers: those who buy holiday gifts for their pets, and those who will never understand. In a city where fashions and fortunes change faster than the value of a credit default swap, the enduring devotion to New York’s creature companions is evidenced by the preponderance of their merchandise: trixie + peanut for high-class pets, Whiskers for organic pets, Dogmatic Products for hipster pets. The latest in this succession of pet retailers is the coming Pet Central on Second Avenue.

“Pet Central was in the market for a location on the east side of Manhattan,” said Michael Worthman, the Robert K. Futterman broker who represented both the tenant and building owner Zeno in the deal. The 1,500-square-foot store marks the city-based retailer’s sixth location. Mr. Worthman also noted that sharing the building with Biscuits & Bath, a dog day-care center, added to the space’s appeal.

It might surprise some that even as New Yorkers are cutting back, their pets are not. But as The New York Times recently pointed out, the recession has resulted in some unexpected windfalls for the pet industry. Landlords, once vigilantly anti-pet store (fur, noise and lingering smells being the commonly cited complaints), are becoming a little more tolerant. One pet business recently hired a boutique architecture firm to build an 1,800-square-foot indoor park in its new Chelsea shop and day-care center.

egeminder@observer.com