Jennie Fowler went through a long and difficult journey to move her business nearby.
Ruffcuts Dog & Cat Grooming began operating from its new location at 404 W. Norfolk Ave. at the end of October, but it took seven months and a lot of support from his staff and clients to get the business moving.
“Our clients take the best people seriously,” Fowler said. “Norfolk has the best people.”
Ruffcuts has been part of the Norfolk business community since Fowler started it out of her home in 2018. With six children, Fowler coordinated pick-ups and drop-offs between the hours she worked at a veterinarian clinic when his wife suggested. He starts his own grooming shop at home.
“We’re originally from Omaha, and nobody does stuff like this. It’s borderline weird,” he says with a smile. “But he built a groom shop in our garage one day, and I started with a dog and a homemade sign.”
The business grew at a steady pace until it became clear that a dedicated storefront space was needed. The first storefront operation opened at 109 N. Fourth St., and an additional groomer, Linsey Meyer, was added to the staff.
Fowler said, “When I first left my house, I intended to do it alone. Linsey was a client of mine and said if you need help …”
Fowler called Meyer one night and asked if he really wanted the job. Although Meyer now lives in Tennessee, he still comes back to visit and help out. And Fowler now has six employees on staff, which led to the decision to move again.
“It was only set up for three groomers, and we had five,” Fowler said of the original storefront location. “We don’t have a room. We are limited in how many dogs we can take because our kennel is so small.”
Fowler said he talked to his landlord, Dan Spray, about needing more space, and he immediately set to work finding a bigger one. It wasn’t long before he returned with a spot at 404 W. Norfolk Ave., Fowler said.
“My owner was absolutely amazing,” she said. “He was a huge advocate for me the whole time.”
Fowler and her husband Chris got the keys to the new facility at the end of March, hired an electrician, started looking for a plumber and began the work of converting it from empty office space to a pet grooming studio.
“We added half a wall. We took out an office and added a back wall, a bath and upgraded the bathroom for ADA purposes,” Fowler said. “It’s an empty shell with two offices. … It’s literally like the other (location), just bigger.”
But the Fowlers’ lives changed in the worst possible way just a month later when son Hunter Cramm died by suicide. It was also there that the love and support of business clients became apparent to Fowler.
“What I love most is that we know most — not all, but most — of (our clients), and we ask, ‘How’s the family? How’s this? How is that?’ When my son passed away, the amount of people who reached out to us was overwhelming — but in an amazing way,” Fowler said. “It wasn’t just for me. We got cards for all of us. … I really don’t think I could have gotten through that without the support, especially from my clients.”
Fowler said work on the new location was put on hold for a while after, but the search for a plumber continued to be unsuccessful.
“We were about to give up on it, and the plumber just showed up out of nowhere,” Fowler said.
When work resumed on the new location, Fowler set a deadline to move in time for the annual downtown trick-or-treating event, a goal Ruffcuts made just in time.
“We did OK at 2 (pm) the day before the downtown trick or treating. The next morning, all the girls and I went in here and moved everything and put everything back. And we’re ready for candy.”
Ruffcuts is now open from 8 am to 5 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with some Wednesdays as the schedule demands.
Fowler said that now that they have settled into the new location, he would like to add two or three more groomers to the staff because their work is in high demand. He added that he is thankful and appreciative of his existing staff, who make it a point to be supportive and uplift each other in their endeavors.
“I love my staff beyond belief,” he said.
