WaggMore Pet Boutique: How a NJ Bank was Converted into a Dog Treat Bakery

In 2016, when Christopher Murch first toyed with the idea of opening a pet store, he had no way of knowing the inspiration behind his dog treat enterprise would trace back to his rescue dog named Toby.

“I could not have a dog growing up,” said Murch. “Everyone in my household was allergic so when I got my own place, I got Mega Mutt. He was a lot of everything, the fuel and inspiration for opening my own dog business. He passed away in 2024.”

In 2017, Murch opened his first brick-and-mortar pet store, WaggMore, a tiny 500-square-foot boutique in Lake Mohawk, New Jersey. It sold traditional pet products like toys, food and had a single self-wash station. Soon, he was experimenting with dog treats, and Toby became his chief tester, alongside other dogs belonging to family and friends.

“We just learned from customers’ feedback the growth of the pet industry and what was good for us and what wasn’t. We did some homework, studied and learned how to make our own dog treats. Entrepreneurship runs in my blood, in my family. My grandfather and my father owned their own businesses,” said Murch. “At first the treats were made at home, baked then finished in dehydrators to extend shelf life.”

Murch said he outgrew his old space and as his businesses venture took off so did his dog treats. He started to look for a new location but then the pandemic hit.

Just as things were starting to look up, the COVID pandemic hit and, in 2020, Murch was forced to keep his business afloat by making dog food home deliveries.

“That kept us going for the first couple months of the pandemic,” recalled Murch. It was during this time that he saw an old bank for sale in town, a few blocks away from his old store.

“I was crazy enough to buy the old bank, which is now my flagship store and roughly houses 2,000-square-feet on each floor,” he explained.

The two-story building houses the retail store downstairs and multiple self-wash stations. Upstairs is a wide -open production kitchen filled with dehydrators and ovens, which run about six days a week. The store bakes a wide range of treats, including Doggy Crack.

“We used to call it Chicken Jerky, but customers kept coming in saying, ‘Whatever I bought last time, they got hooked on it. They got addicted, they’re like, this is crack for dogs,’ ” he said.

Today, WaggMore Pet Boutique & Bakery processes about 340 pounds of chicken tenderloins each week. Each batch takes roughly 74 hours from baking to dehydration. Murch sells his treats through his store, on Amazon and through regional distributors.

According to Murch, Doggy Crack alone generated about $24,000 in direct store sales, excluding distributor revenue, last year. He expects closer to $30,000 through distribution this year.

Meanwhile, the store employs seven people and leans heavily into locally sourced products, from handmade collars to toys produced within 20 to 25 miles of the shop.

“I would say 60 to 65% of our store stock is treats,” he noted. “We try to be very different from a typical box store where you find all the traditional brands.”

Murch has no immediate plans to expand beyond his current operations. He intends to soon launch Archie’s Dog Bakery, a specialty brand dedicated to birthday cakes, donuts and celebration treats. Named after his current dog, the brand is set to roll out online and on Amazon.

For Murch, success isn’t about growth; instead, it is about honoring the dog that started it all – Toby.

“He was my first dog, my first son,” he concluded. “The one that started this all.”