Fideaux owner Erin Morris, at left getting the keys, in her new MVLY space, and with Olive, her 12-year-old Cavalier King Charles.
From Watershed and Flourcraft Bakery to the ever-creative Once Around, Ambatalia and Bloomingayles and much more, the Mill Valley Lumber Yard is chock full of homegrown business concepts that have flourished – so much so that some incredibly successful entrepreneurs have followed suit and opened locations there. Think Aviator Nation, Makers Market and Mad Dogs & Englishmen, to name a few.
Now we can count Fideaux, the pet heaven that Erin Morris has built over more than two decades, with 25 years in St. Helena and another 17 years in Healdsburg, among the star-studded arrivals. Morris recently chose Suite 804 at MVLY to open the third location of her shop dedicated to the coolest dog and cat products out there.
“We always thought it would be fun to be in Mill Valley,” she says. “There are so many dogs there, it’s fun and happening, and our shops are trendy boutique stores – it fits.”
Morris says she’s thought about a Mill Valley location for years, but was reticent to compete with similar shops like AlphaDog, which Erin Seavey opened at 6 Miller Ave. in 2012 and later re-branded as Mt. Tam Dog Company at 6 Miller Avenue before closing in 2017.
Morris connected with MVLY owners Jan and Matt Mathews and decided to take the plunge. She says she’s getting used to the ebbs and flows of customer patterns at MVLY, and knows she can carve out a niche that steers clear of the big box retailers by focusing on the unique, mom and pop brands.
Products run the gamut from Bella Bean Couture and Wiley’s Treats to The Foggy Dog and “higher quality and locally made products from people we love working and products that you don’t see everywhere,” Morris says.
I used to purchase lumber and other building supplies there.