Family pet store in south Louisville closing down after 51 years in business

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Most of the tanks inside Southside Pet Shop are gone or empty. After 51 years, owner Becky Gent and her husband are closing up shop on Southside Drive.

Everything inside the store must go, but what will stay are the memories.

"I think I was probably 12 or 13," Gent said Tuesday. "For Christmas, we got our first aquarium, and I just got hooked."

Over the years, Gent said she has employed at least 200 people, many of whom were students looking for their first jobs and others who just had a passion for animals. She and her husband said business has been better than ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the time has come for them to retire and travel.

"We've just had to fight through recessions and the whole dynamics, and I feel like we have done a pretty good job to adapt along the way," Gent said.

As more and more national retailers move into town, small mom-and-pop pet stores are becoming much more scarce.

"At one time, Louisville had, I believe, was close to 30 or 35 individual mom-and-pop pet stores," Gent said. "After we leave, it will be two. It will be Sandy's and Pet's Palace.

"We've tried to sell it as a pet shop to keep the business in the community, but it hasn't worked out."

Now, everything is on sale, from fish to tanks to dog and cat supplies. Friday is the store’s last day as employees will say goodbye to customers and each other.

"It makes me sad," said Sarah Bolton, one of Gent's employees. "We all get along so well. They have been around for so long. I have been coming in here since I was a kid ,but it has been one of the best places I have ever worked at."

Southside Pet Shop is located at 7031 Southside Drive in Louisville.