Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep # 139 Zoomin' Groomin': Transforming Pet Care in Bergen County
Ever wonder what happens when frustration turns into innovation? Gregg Gruber and his wife found themselves struggling to find quality grooming for their Australian Labradoodle—a common pain point for many pet parents. After multiple disappointing experiences with both traditional and mobile groomers, they finally discovered Zoomin' Groomin'. The difference was immediate and striking—their dog, who once ran away from groomers, now eagerly approached the van.
That transformative experience led the couple to invest in their own Zoomin' Groomin' franchise serving Bergen County. Gregg shares the compelling details of what makes their service unique in a crowded marketplace. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar establishments where pets may spend hours in cages surrounded by other anxious animals, their meticulously cleaned mobile spa provides a one-on-one experience that prioritizes pet comfort. Each van arrives at clients' homes sparkling clean—no lingering pet hair or wet dog smell—creating what Gregg describes as "a basic hospital setting" where pets receive individualized attention.
Beyond standard grooming, they offer comprehensive services including teeth cleaning, ear cleaning, nail trimming, and even facial massages for the ultimate pet spa day. What truly sets them apart is their attention to pet health—after each session, pet parents receive before-and-after photos alongside a detailed grooming report noting any skin or coat abnormalities that might require veterinary attention. Serving thirteen affluent Bergen County communities from Saddle River to Mahwah, they've found creative ways to integrate with other local businesses, including coordinating with a men's salon for simultaneous human-and-pet grooming days. Ready to transform your pet's grooming experience? Connect with Zoomin' Groomin' through their social media channels or by calling 201-468-9772 to schedule your pet's next spa day.
Zoomin Groomin - Saddle River, NJ
Gregg Gruber
Midland Park, NJ · Oakland, NJ · Mahwah, NJ · Allendale, NJ · Ramsey, NJ · Franklin Lakes, NJ · Ridgewood, NJ · Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ · Saddle River, NJ · Glen Rock, NJ
(201) 468-9772
Pethaven@zoomingroomin.com
zoomingroomin.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Rohan.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we are joined by Gregg Gruber, the owner or co-owner of Zoomin' Groomin' of Saddle River. Zoomin' Groomin' is a mobile pet grooming business, which is very cool because a lot of times you know I have a pet and a lot of times you don't want to take your dog to the you know, to the spa, if you want to call that or dog groomer and to have the convenience of somebody coming to you and their really cool van makes a lot of sense. So, and welcome to the show, gregg, Thank you very much Nice to be here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we're going to get into your background. Do you love pets? I hope you say yes, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:I've had plenty of dogs in my lifetime. Yes, yeah, oh nice.
Speaker 2:Nice. So where are you from? And this is a franchise. There's many Zoom and Groomers around the country, correct? So what compelled you to want to start this company, or start?
Speaker 3:So my wife and I have a Australian Labradoodle. He's eight years old now and we found it troublesome to try to find an actual groomer that either knows how to deal with his coat or actually can deal with giving us feedback as to how to maintain his coat. We went through brick and mortar, we went through mobile and nothing seemed to satisfy our needs, as well as sometimes he would end up getting nicked or cut and we wouldn't find out until we got home. So our last time was that we live in Nanuet and we contacted Zoom and Grooming. As time was that we live in Nanuet and we contacted Zoom and Grooming as a mobile as our last effort, and the dog came out perfect. Now you know you have an issue when your dog doesn't want to go either to the brick and mortar or he like ready to run away from the mobile. Van Gerson will now run to the van.
Speaker 3:So, that was a positive experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I did some research on the company and, after discussing it with my wife in this for a while, we went ahead and we dipped our toes in and we bought a territory.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow. And where is your territory?
Speaker 3:Our territory is in Bergen County. It runs from Glen Rock all the way up to Mahwah. We have 10 zip codes within that area, so we also do White Coff, Glen Rock, Allendale, Franklin Lakes all those areas.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, you know what? I don't see White Coff on your Facebook page, so I'm going to have to go ahead and add that in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah so that's you know, I have a. I have a Husky. He's a um, yeah, so that's you know. I have a. I have a husky. He's a blonde husky and, uh, you know, they don't have to be groomed like maybe labradoodles do, like their hair doesn't keep growing. But he does need to be deshetted kind of deshet, yeah, and he looks really great when he comes back and he's all fresh and clean and um.
Speaker 1:But it takes me like two days to get dirty again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I call him a self-cleaning oven because when he gets dirty he just, you know, licks himself like a cat, and then right yeah, hours later it's like, wow, his legs are clean again.
Speaker 2:Um, but yeah, you know, I mean there's a lot of grooming businesses out there, a lot of you know. I don't want to call fly by night, but a lot of people will call themselves a pet groomer, correct, you know what? What's the experience like? I mean the van very colorful, it's blue. You got the the kind of dog and cat. Is that on your? On the?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a dog and cat. Yeah, what a crown. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the dog reminds me I'm pretty bad at that. So what's the experience like? So, you, you, somebody calls you and the van shows up at the house and correct.
Speaker 3:So the difference between what we do and what some other mobile groomers do One is that we are stringent and methodical about keeping the van disinfected and cleaned. So when you first open that door there's no hair puffing at you from the previous room, it doesn't smell like wet dog and it looks like a basic hospital setting because it's basically white. So you can tell if there's anything wrong with the van at that point in time. So you can tell if there's anything wrong with the van at that point in time. And then our services are basically done to cater to those that would rather bring their dog just a few feet away instead of taking them to a brick and mortar and I'm not downplaying any brick and mortar, but at the same token, when you take a dog to a brick and mortar, he's not the only client.
Speaker 3:There's multiple dogs in there. Sometimes they have to put them in cages to keep them separated. That brings a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress. With us it's a one-on-one application the dog and the groomer. And the groomer we hire to make sure that they have multiple years of experience with not only their craft but how they deal with the dog's energy right, so that we keep them calm and and and enjoy the process.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah that's good, I mean, that's important. And I guess it's not just dogs that you, uh, that you cater to, I mean, there's cats as well there's cats as well.
Speaker 3:Some cats uh are raised to enjoy water and some are not. So they would actually go ahead and handle both of those, yeah, nice.
Speaker 2:So what you mentioned, that you did an event at hammer and nails, which is a men's you know hair salon in Ridgewood. So what was that all about?
Speaker 3:Well, it was a situation where we met the owner through a networking event and we thought our synergy between both of our entities would would be a good event to host, because some of his clientele have dogs and one of their issues was also if a man comes in and gets himself groomed and he needs to have his dog groomed, we have to come home after his session and take the dog and vice versa. This way, we actually put it together Nice, and it saved time, energy and it was a great event because we also had Craze Graze there.
Speaker 2:Right, who, by the way, advertises with me in my Wyckoff magazine, oh great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and she was nice enough to donate. Yeah, she donated her services for that day.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's great. That's great. Yeah, we have a lot of great features we've done with her and for her in Wyckoff Magazine and Truck Country. You never thought that could be a franchise, but she's killing it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, as a matter of fact, we're using her exclusively for whatever other events we pull just to go ahead and make sure that we all grow together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's important, you know, supporting fellow local business owners, which is who I am and what I do and why you're here, right? So what are the other things? So what are the types of services? So you know, obviously there's the typical my dog needs to be groomed. What are the other services that you guys offer?
Speaker 3:So we also, with all our sessions we offer teeth cleaning, ear cleaning, nail cleaning. Upon request we can do anal glands, but for the most part we also do facials for the dog, facial massage. So you know it's an actual spa experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, okay, yes, and sometimes my dog just needs a bath, right, he doesn't need to be really groomed, we just need to. You know, luckily in the summer we could just put him outside and get the hose on him and get the shampoo out and, you know, give him his own shower. Sometimes we have to take him to a pet store that has services where you can rent out a space to bathe your dog. So do you offer that kind of service as well?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, so that would be our basic bath and tidy, and it would just also include the teeth, ear and nails, so that way at least, at least the dog will come out shining and new. Right, right, right, you want them ready for the holidays.
Speaker 2:Ready for the holidays. Correct Easter we did our dog for Easter, so do you have like a bath and blowout service as well, where it's not the tidy trim, it's just bath and blowout?
Speaker 3:Yes, what we do is we try to go ahead and package it so that it's one forget it Not, not to worry about anything else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's great. That's great. So, backing up, like what's your journey, like what did you do before you own this franchise?
Speaker 3:So both my wife and I are self-employed. My wife is a real estate broker Okay, she's with Howard Hanna and I own a construction inspection company for the last 12 years.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, construction inspection, okay, so it's mostly or purely commercial.
Speaker 3:No, I do all. I am hired by either the developer or the owner to ensure that the project is being done as per drawings, and that will entail ground up construction or renovations of anything, whether it's a private house or a commercial property or a municipal uh property yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:So I mean, this is so the the mobile pet spa, as you as you talked about, was something that you saw. You know it was a great service to your dog, to your pet, and you guys just saw this as a, as a niche to bring, yeah, to bring this, um, you know, this opportunity to uh, to burton county, so, um and what like. So you're in a, um, a neighborhood that I guess could be termed as affluent, right, correct? I mean, saddle river is probably one of the most affluent towns in all of america, but then even the the other towns are, all you know, probably 250 a year or more in annual household income and busy families, and you know, I don't know what the average, how many homes have a pet, but I'd have to say it's got to be over 75%.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's quite a lot. We ran the numbers when we were researching it and we realized that it was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. But you know, with that said, and I've seen this in my business, you know, when there is a lot of wealth and a lot of opportunity, there's a lot of competition, right? So, and it's not, you know, you're not the only mobile groomer in Bergen County, so, but you know, we already talked about what you guys do. That's different, right, the experience of walking into a clean truck.
Speaker 3:And you know, and at the same token we also provide at the end of the groom we provide a before and after picture as well as a grooming report, a before and after picture as well as a grooming report. So our groomers are trained to basically look over the animal and if there are any abnormal situations within the coat or within the skin we put it in the grooming report and we also give that to the pet parent, so that way if there's an issue they can take it to the vet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, that's great. That's great. I mean, when you get the old Japan Harrington park territory, let me know, cause that's where I am. Oh great, yeah, not a problem. I mean, and I'm sure you have to deal with some difficult dogs and cats, you know we have to muzzle them. I know our neighbor's old dog she used to. She was a Cocker Spaniel and she had to be muzzled. I don't know if they have to muzzle my dog. I mean you have to muzzle him when he goes to the vet because he doesn't like the vet, but it would be the energy. Yeah, I think there's a certain playbook that dogs learn about, you know, like bark at the mailman and pee on a fire hydrant. You know these are things you have to do when you go to the vet do not.
Speaker 2:you know you do not want to be happy. Bad things happen there, but no, I think it's a great you know it's a great service and I think the important thing is that people know you guys exist and you know how do they get in contact with you.
Speaker 3:Well, obviously, our main source of contact is social media. We have we're on Facebook, we're on Instagram, our handles are Zoom and Groom and Saddle River, and then you can contact us on the same website, same deal zoomandgroomcom Saddle River. You can call us 201-468-9772 directly, and you can either text that number as well and we'll answer. My wife is very adamant about answering that call whenever it comes in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now it's important. It's amazing how many businesses don't pick up the phone when you call them and then they complain that business is slow. It's like, but did you call them back?
Speaker 3:Correct. Yes, or you end up with that automated system in it and it's not very personable.
Speaker 2:Right, right, exactly. So I want to review the towns that you do cover again, because it is specific to like Western Bergen County. It's Allendale. Well, I'm going to go east to west so, cause I live on the east and I'm always driving over to wyckoff, so we got walt, we got saddle river, midland park, waldwick uh ramsey, allendale, wyckoff, ridgewood, franklin lakes uh glenrock, and all the way over to mawah in Oakland and, I believe, hohokis I forgot Hohokis, hohokis, yes. Yeah, Hohokis.
Speaker 3:Right, so 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 locations.
Speaker 2:That's great, that's great, yeah, yeah, very good.
Speaker 1:Well, you know again.
Speaker 2:as a dog owner, you know I got a soft spot for what you guys do, thank you. I've seen a lot of bad grooming luckily not with my dog, but with others. The nails are cut too close and they're bleeding, or the dog's just had a terrible experience. They couldn't get it down. It's great to know that you guys are out there and I look forward to you perhaps expanding into my area.
Speaker 3:Yes, I mean we're trying really hard to go ahead and hone in on on on the the clientele. We also use all natural products, hypoallergenic products. There's no chemicals that are that are that would irritate any coat or any skin. So there's no chemicals that would irritate any coat or any skin. And you know well, sometimes we'll get a client that will request a specific item to be done and we try our best to accommodate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great. Well, greg, thanks very much for being a guest on the show, thank you. And it's Zoom, grooming. It's groom, zoom and groomin, zoomin, zoomin, groomin Saddle River, which is important that you make that distinction. And you know the phone number will be in the kind of the synopsis of the show, but let's go over one more time it's 201-468-9772. Right, and it's zooming, grooming Saddle River. Well, thanks very much. Just bear with us a second. I'm just going to have Chuck take us out and you and I will be right back, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen. com. That's gnpbergen. com, or call 201-298-8325.