At about 16 years old, Steve Scaffidi took a job working at Pier 1 Imports — specifically in the pet department of the retailer’s Saugus location — where he was soon named manager.
Unbeknownst to him, it was a job that would mark the beginning of a 50-year career in the pet supply industry.
From his beginnings at Pier 1 Imports, Scaffidi was hired by a wholesale company with five retail locations — one of which was on Harvard Avenue in Allston — where he worked while attending Suffolk University. In 1975, he became part owner of the store.
Now in his 70s, and after a long career in the industry, Scaffadi is preparing for retirement. This month, he and his wife Diann, who co-own Pet Supply Outlet on Blanchard Road, announced their plans to close up the shop after about 32 years in business, the last 18 of which were in Belmont.
The store he co-owned on Harvard Avenue, he said, also happens to soon be shutting its doors after decades in business.
“[I’ll miss] talking to people,” he said. “I do the buying for the store, and that’s kind of the fun part — trying to figure out what people want.”
Scaffidi bought his first pet supply store in 1976, and other stores followed. In addition to retail operations, the Scaffidi’s owned a wholesale business that sold strictly to independent pet stores. That enterprise, however, was sold about 16 years ago.
“I kept this as a hobby, I guess,” he said, speaking from the store on Blanchard Road, where he and one of his employees had begun the process of taking apart the shelving.
Pet Supply Outlet first opened in 1994 on Fresh Pond Circle in Cambridge, where Trader Joe’s is now. When the couple’s lease expired and they learned their rent was going to triple, they moved to Belmont, where an insurance company was vacating the space at 258 Blanchard Road.
“It was less than a mile from our previous location, and we have a lot of customers from Belmont,” he said.
Scaffidi explained that the store began as an “outlet” because he bought and salvaged surplus products from other retailers, and then sold them at Pet Supply Outlet at a discounted rate.
Other than the fact the store no longer sells live animals, not much about the store has changed since he first opened, Scaffidi said. Though there are still some items that come to them through close-outs or overstock, the inventory is a bit more traditional now. Pet food has never been salvaged, he noted, and he still aims to buy as local as he can, minimizing the carbon footprint from travel.
Some time in the last few years, the Scaffidi’s bought the building and a year ago decided to sell it. Under the building’s new ownership, they accepted a one-year lease with the idea it was time to “wind down.”
According to Scaffidi, the store is working with customers who want the same exclusive or hard-to-find brands at other retail locations, easing the transition for some of their most loyal shoppers.
With Steve and Diann at the helm, the store has, in many ways, been a family affair for the family of seven.
“At one time or another, I think every kid has helped out in the store in some capacity,” he said of their five children, noting his 15-year-old grandson “comes through and helps out a bit.”
And then there is 84-year-old Janet Davis, a Hingham resident who has worked for the family since the store opened in 1994. Khris Kleber, 65, has been with them since 2019.
“We have some great employees here,” he said.
In total, they have four employees (including two Belmont residents, Alex and Alison); six including themselves.
A retirement sale began earlier this month, with products listed at 20% off (excluding cat and dog food).
New products are still coming in, but in the coming months — around October — that, too,will come to an end.
“I started doing this retail thing in ‘76, so 50 years back,” he said. “This will be the first Christmas I don’t have to deal with retail. That’s a big difference.”
