MOORHEAD — Downtown Moorhead will soon lose another business like Hotdog! Pet Salon, located at 814 Center Ave., has revealed plans to close in the coming months.
Salon owner Cristen Voeltz first announced the news of the closure on Monday morning, January 23, via Facebook. “This was an extremely difficult decision to make, and I am incredibly grateful for the last 11 years of being able to live my dream,” he wrote. “I have been fortunate to work alongside some of the most talented and kind people and I want to thank each of them for providing compassionate care that we can all be proud of.”
When contacted by The Forum to discuss the closure, Voeltz explained that the business had begun to affect her well-being.
At its peak, Hotdog! Pet Salon employed four full-time groomers. That number gradually dwindled, to the point that about a year and a half ago, Voeltz found herself the only hairstylist left. “I couldn’t find anyone else to bring,” she said.
Unable to keep up with the demand, Voeltz opted to stop offering pet haircuts. “For me, just getting ready, I couldn’t keep up with the clientele we had. I just had to give my body a break,” he said.
At that point, hot dog! focused on bath and nail services, as well as creating a do-it-yourself bath offering. The DIY option eventually became “much busier,” but Voeltz felt business was at its best with complete professional grooming services.
I was hoping to find a groomer or pet lover willing to take over, however that never materialized. “That was always the goal, to have all of that work,” he said. “Having a COVID shutdown and then trying to have staff, that’s a lot of different things all rolled into one.”
Voeltz doesn’t yet have a firm closing date set, though the baths and nail trimming will end on March 1. The DIY bath will remain in operation until the space is leased to a new tenant, at which time it will begin selling the equipment and liquidation operations.
Voeltz, whose passion for high-quality pet care is immediately apparent, said the most difficult aspect of the closing will be ending his relationship with clients and their pets. “That was the hardest part,” he lamented. “They have trusted us and we become very attached to our clients, so I am very sad that they no longer have us to turn to, but there are other good hairdressers and they will find them.”
Pancho! Pet Salon has been in business since 2012. In 2019, Voeltz moved the business from Fargo to its downtown Moorhead location.
Pancho! The Pet Salon closure is one of several recent business changes in downtown Moorhead. In 2020, Loffler and Innovative Office Solutions acquired Reardon Office Equipment and moved to Fargo. Nature of the North, which had been co-located with Hotdog!, closed its physical presence in 2022. Last December, it was announced that Wells Fargo’s downtown location will close next March.
The look of downtown Moorhead will change even more in the coming years as the demolition of the Moorhead Center Mall will make room for a library, community center and massive development.
Voeltz said she would be open to working with animals or owning her own business in the future, though she plans to re-enter the workforce for now. Although the closure of Hotdog! not the end she had in mind, she proudly recalled her decade as a small business owner.
“Obviously, when you start a business, you hope that is what will lead you to retirement. That’s what I expected, but things change. If I could get away from the sadness part, because I’m sad, I’m also very proud. We built a reputation, we upheld our standards, which was not easy.” “I am proud of what we did and saddened that it is coming to an end.”