Exotic pet store opens in new location
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POCATELLO – Plenty of crawling and swimming creatures, both new and old, now inhabit a new store location.
Aquatic Oasis, an exotic pet store that once occupied retail space in the Pine Ridge Mall, has now moved to 310 South 4th Avenue. The store was fully set up in early June.
“Even though it’s by the skin of our teeth, we still made it work. Being on this side of town, we think it’s going to help,” Co-owner Ross Gregersen says.
While Aquatic Oasis is a pet store — selling a variety of animals, like reptiles, amphibians and saltwater and freshwater marine life — it’s also a “reefing” store. This refers to an owner growing their own coral reef, which is also a living organism, in their fish tank.
Many of the customers interested in reefing encouraged Gregersen to launch a GoFundMe campaign to help fund the store moving out of the mall. It raised nearly $3,000.
“A lot of that went to food and taking care of the employees,” Gregersen said. “That helped out in a huge way in making sure that they could stay as part of the team and help.”
Aquatic Oasis opened in the Pine Ridge Mall in 2022. Much of the mall has been torn down to make way for a new “open-air retail center,” developed by SimonCRE, a commercial real estate firm based out of Arizona.
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Although Gregersen felt the mall was the perfect location at the time, the new location has a lot of nostalgia for him because it was once the home of Great American Video. He’s grateful to the owners of the retails for allowing them to move in early.
“A big reason why we’re here (is) because they … wanted to see us succeed,” Gregersen said.
The extra space at the new building has allowed them to expand the store’s product line by 30% and add what Gregersen calls higher-quality brands.
“We’re gonna be … separating ourselves from other pet stores by what we carry. (We’re) hoping to have more (inventory) readily available to someone who wants a little bit better for their pet,” Gregersen said.
