Photo: QueensPost
Jan. 4, 2013 By Bill Parry
A new pet store—called Wespawpets– will open next week at the location of the old OTB at 44-05 Queens Blvd.
The owner of the store, Sam Abdrabouh, described his business as a Mom & Pop shop that will sell pet food, accessories and nutritional supplies.
Wespawpets’ focus will be on selling quality food for cats and dogs. “Nutritional and holistic food, not the unhealthy brands they sell in supermarkets,” Abdrabouh said. “We’ll also feature raw food … We’ll be the only one in the neighborhood. Until now pet owners had to go to Whiskers in Astoria for that.”
Abdrabouh is a licensed pharmacist with a passion for animals. Therefore, he said, he would not sell pets. “That goes against my ethics,” he said, “I’ll leave that part to other businesses.”
The new store will also try to cater to customer requests. “If there’s something people want that we don’t stock, we’ll listen… there’s a lot of space here,” he said.
Sunnyside first came to Abdrabouh’s attention after he read an article in New York Magazine that ranked this area the third most livable neighborhood in the city (April 2010 issue). “He [Nate Silver, the author] called this a hidden gem,” Abdrabouh said. “I had to come and see it for myself.”
He took a walk from Greenpoint Ave. to Skillman Ave. He said he noticed the diversity of the residents and the number of pet owners. “I came into the area and was mesmerized. I fell in love.”
