Franchisor Stories
It's clear that the founders of petbar, Dan and Ashley O’Loughlin, aren't just selling a concept. They operate six locations themselves, showing franchisees they believe in the system they created.
In franchising, there is no stronger signal of confidence than when founders continue to put their own capital back into the system they created. At petbar, the boutique dog grooming franchise, that signal is unmistakable. Husband-and-wife founders Dan and Ashley O’Loughlin are not only the visionaries behind the boutique pet grooming brand, they are also its largest multi-unit franchise owners. For prospective franchisees, that choice speaks volumes about petbar’s franchise opportunity.
petbar’s story began in Texas in 2015, long before franchising was even part of the plan. Dan came from the gym and tanning industries, while Ashley brought a corporate consulting background.
“We started seeing signs that the industry was eroding,” Dan said. “We were looking for something different, something more durable.”
When they signed a lease for what would become the first petbar, they were ready for a new challenge but unsure exactly where it would lead. The opportunity appeared unexpectedly when the couple’s groomer moved away. Rather than scramble for a replacement, they began researching the pet grooming space.
“We stumbled into a dog concept because our groomer was leaving,” Dan said. “We realized this was a need not just for us but for other people too. We opened our own location in 2015 in Texas, and it just took off. Within two years, we were exploding at the seams. The second location took off like crazy. That’s really where it all started.”
Unlike many franchise stories, petbar was not born from a spreadsheet. “We didn’t get involved because we were trying to make money per se,” Dan said. “We got involved because we had that passion.”
After the second location, the O’Loughlins had a big decision to make. “We were deciding whether to open more stores ourselves or look into franchising,” Dan said. “The idea of spreading petbar faster in different markets was exciting.”
They launched franchising with a business model centered around low overhead, recurring membership revenue, and simplified operations. In the first two years, the brand opened a whopping 25 locations.
“The reason petbar was able to grow so fast was because our owners love animals,” Dan said. “They want something driven by the community. Once they walked into a location and saw what was going on, it was kind of magical.”
Yet even as petbar grew nationally, the founders never stepped away from store-level operations. Instead, they doubled down.
“We had the two locations, and we really enjoyed the business,” Dan said. “It felt like something we wanted to keep doing. We started growing it, and before we knew it, we owned more stores.”
Today, they operate six locations themselves, making them the brand’s largest multi-unit owners. “We can’t help ourselves,” Dan said. “We want to keep growing every which way we can.”
petbar’s reinvestment story is also a family story. All three of the O’Loughlins’ children are involved in the business.
“My oldest daughter operates two locations in Houston,” Dan said. “My son works a lot on the franchise side and at the store level, and our youngest helps operate the front area. It really is a family business.”
That hands-on involvement strengthens the brand’s culture. “We really love building teams and watching people grow,” Ashley said. “Our stores feel like a work family.”
The significance of founder-owned units goes beyond optics. “We’re knee-deep in the trenches,” Dan said. “We’ve built this from the ground up. There’s nothing that surprises us because we’ve seen every angle of the business.”
That firsthand experience is a key to the brand’s franchisee support. “A lot of my time is fielding calls from franchisees,” Dan said. “We know what we’re talking about because we live it.”
Ashley noted that their corporate stores can also serve as testing grounds for innovation. “We can pilot new marketing ideas, new services and different approaches in different markets before rolling them out systemwide,” she said. “That’s a huge advantage.”
In franchising, alignment between the franchisees and the franchisor matters. When founders choose to remain operators, they tie their personal financial outcomes to the same unit-level performance as their franchisees.
For Dan and Ashley, owning six locations is about conviction. Their continued reinvestment sends a clear message: petbar works at the unit level. It scales across markets and it is built for the long term.
“We’re building something for the long haul,” Dan said. “That’s always been the goal.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/petbar/.
Sign up for the 1851 Franchise newsletter to get our biggest stories before everyone else
By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy.
