Retailer offering pet supplies, grooming and treats expands with 4th Lehigh Valley location

Chaar, a local, family-owned business offering pet food, supplies and grooming, will hold a soft opening of its fourth location on Tuesday at 1091 Mill Creek Road in Lower Macungie Township.

LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. - A new spot to pamper your pets has joined the Lehigh Valley's retail roster.

Chaar, a local, family-owned business offering pet food, supplies and grooming, will hold a soft opening of its fourth location on Tuesday at 1091 Mill Creek Road in Lower Macungie Township, according to AJ ElChaar, Chaar's senior vice president.

The new store fills the space previously occupied by Pet Valu in the West Valley Marketplace, a Walmart-anchored shopping center at Hamilton Boulevard and Mill Creek Road.

Chaar, a local, family-owned business offering pet food, supplies and grooming, will hold a soft opening of its fourth location on Tuesday at 1091 Mill Creek Road in Lower Macungie Township.

ElChaar operates the business with his father and the company's president and CEO, Tony ElChaar.

The business originated in 2001 as Chaar Saddlery, offering primarily horseback-riding tack and apparel out of a small warehouse.

In 2004, it expanded its product lineup to include pet food and supplies as well as fashions inspired by the American West when it moved into its anchor store on Airport Road in Allentown.

Today, the company has grown to include four locations - its anchor store, the new Lower Macungie store and two other satellite stores on Route 378 in Lower Saucon Township and Town Center Boulevard in Forks Township.

Chaar, a local, family-owned business offering pet food, supplies and grooming, will hold a soft opening of its fourth location on Tuesday at 1091 Mill Creek Road in Lower Macungie Township.

The Allentown location still carries a small amount of equestrian items along with men's and women's workwear and fashions designed for the outdoors, AJ said. However, the other locations focus on pet food, supplies and grooming.

"This new location will be like our Saucon Valley and Forks Township stores, where it's a neighborhood pet supply store, with pet food, clothing, beds, toys and other items," AJ said. "In Allentown, we also have clothing and footwear for people - mostly outdoor-oriented and Western-style items. We feature a lot of boots - work, hiking and cowboy, with work boots being our biggest category."

In Lower Macungie, the ElChaars spent several months renovating the retail space, including adding more room for dog grooming, AJ said.

The new store carries the business' full lineup of pet food and supplies, including premium pet food brands not found at major retailers.

A major draw is an assortment of donut dog treats from K9 Granola Factory.

Chaar, a local, family-owned business offering pet food, supplies and grooming, will hold a soft opening of its fourth location on Tuesday, July 11, at 1091 Mill Creek Road in Lower Macungie Township.

"Our niche is in specialty pet foods, including healthier, premium foods that you won't find at big chains," AJ said. "One of our most popular brands that everyone seems to be looking for is Fromm. We also carry a lot of raw foods as well as freshly cooked foods. Freshpet is a local brand, and we also feature Open Farm, which focuses on sustainable practices."

The ElChaars were attracted to the Lower Macungie location as they noticed many customers traveling from that area to the Allentown store over the years.

"We were thinking that part of the Lehigh Valley was a little bit underserved in terms of having a neighborhood pet supply store," AJ said. "So, combine that with the fact that we're seeing a fair number of clientele driving all the way across town to come to our Airport Road store, we've wanted to open a store there for a while. Finally, we were able to put something together."

The Lower Macungie store likely won't be the end of Chaar's expansion.

"We're also looking for a fifth store location as well," AJ added. "We'd like to open number 5 ideally somewhere in the Lehigh Valley, but if we have to go outside of the area, we'd consider that, too."

Hours for the new Lower Macungie store are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

For the latest Chaar happenings, follow the business' Facebook and Instagram pages. Info: chaar.us.

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