Woof Gang Bakery Awards Top Honors to Outstanding Franchises

ORLANDO, FL – Woof Gang Bakery, the leader in specialty pet retail and grooming with 130 locations across the U.S., has awarded top honors to the company’s exceptional franchises, based on the previous year’s sales figures.

“In such telling times as these, with brick and mortar stores, it’s so exciting to recognize that a brand like Woof Gang Bakery is thriving,” said Paul Allen, CEO of Woof Gang Bakery. “We are awestruck by the resiliency and dedication of our franchise owners who work diligently to build their businesses and adapt to necessary operational changes. We are wholly impressed by our franchisees turning challenges into opportunities to innovate new solutions and grow the business and the brand.”

The award-winning Woof Gang Bakery franchises include:

Outstanding New Store
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming The Woodlands, Texas – franchise owner Kelly Ross

Opened in mid-2019, Kelly launched her business quickly and capably and is trusted by her customers and the community. With a background in the pet industry, she leveraged her vast product knowledge and expertise to rapidly establish The Woodlands store as a local leader in everything pet-related. Kelly quickly built a large customer base around professional pet grooming, with the store providing grooming services for dozens of dogs each day. The store hosts regular community outreach events like Doggie Dental Day, Paint Your Pet, Doggie Manners 101 training, and seasonal favorites including Halloween costume contests and photos with Santa.

Franchise of the Year
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming The Villages, Florida – franchise owners Beth and Woody Whitcomb

Woof Gang Bakery awards Franchise of the Year based on criteria including business growth, passion for the brand, customer service and ongoing contribution to the franchise system. Beth and Woody excel in each of these areas and it’s no surprise they also achieved Millionaire Club status. They serve their community with two successful stores in The Villages and have realized unparalleled growth. They are active in the community, highly regarded by their customers, and they are innovators and leaders in the Woof Gang Bakery system. This year, Beth and Woody opened the first Woof Gang Academy of Grooming location in Pompano Beach, Florida, to train new professional pet groomers and provide continuing education. A second Woof Gang Academy of Grooming will open this year in Orlando.

Outstanding Grooming Store
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming Raleigh, North Carolina – franchise owners Elise and Michael Morales

Elise and Michael’s accomplishment is due to their commitment to quality and a philosophy of always putting their customers and pets first. Evidence of this customer-centered approach is demonstrated throughout all of their stores and through the home delivery service, they have worked to cultivate in recent months. In addition to their Raleigh and Cary stores that reached the annual million-dollar mark, they also have a store in Apex, North Carolina and another new store that recently opened in Raleigh’s Gateway Plaza.

Outstanding Retail Store
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming Midland, Texas – franchise owners Brenda and Iram Molinar

Open for just three years, the Midland store ascended to Outstanding Retail Store of the year, thanks to the dedicated work and commitment of franchise owners Brenda and Iram. They implement brand standards with excellence and are committed to customer satisfaction and the health and happiness of their furry, four-legged customers.

Most Improved Franchise
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming Ridgewood, New Jersey – franchise owner Maureen Barrett

Maureen, along with Mike Andersen and their team, works tirelessly to build connections and serve their customers with care and dedication. Maureen and Mike are very active in the tight-knit community of Ridgewood, and they are the familiar faces and trusted resources that their local clients rely on. At the store, customers enjoy and engage in regular events including pet adoptions partnering with local rescue groups, veterinary wellness services such as teeth cleaning and vaccines, pet nutrition training and special celebrations including pet birthday parties.

Woof Gang Bakery Leadership Award
Franchise owner, multiple locations – Rubens Campos

Rubens Campos is the recipient of this new honor that is awarded to a team member who
demonstrates a passion for Woof Gang Bakery and excels at promoting and supporting the brand as a whole. Through his strong leadership and mentorship, Rubens has built solid, supportive, encouraging and empowering relationships with many others in the Woof Gang Bakery organization.

In 2013, Rubens started the Woof Gang private label brand that provides quality products to stores company-wide. Rubens operates five central Florida Woof Gang Bakery stores with a sixth store opening soon. He opened some of his stores as new franchise locations and assumed ownership of other existing stores that needed extra care and attention. His locations include two stores in Winter Park, two in Windermere, one in Winter Garden and a brand-new Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming opening soon in the community of Hamlin.

Woof Gang Bakery is the leading specialty retailer of pet food, pet supplies and professional pet grooming in North America, with 130 locations open or under development in the U.S.

Woof Gang Bakery offers the very best in pet care by providing quality products and grooming with a service-oriented approach. Each location is a neighborhood store committed to the well-being, health and happiness of pets.

Woof Gang Bakery was named one of the top 10 largest retailers by Pet Business Media and one of central Florida’s top privately held companies by the Orlando Business Journal. The company received Best Overall Multi-unit Retailer and the Multiservice Excellence Award from Pet Business Media, Retailer of the Year Franchise Award from Pet Product News and was recognized by Pet Insight magazine as one of the nation’s fastest-growing pet chains.