Personalities: They found a niche baking treats for dogs

May 6—In 2008, Amy Kenkel, along with her wife, Laurie Surprenant, started a new business venture: baking healthy dog treats. They opened up their first shop, Leaps and Bones, on Evergreen Walk in South Windsor.

Since then, their business has expanded to a larger space at Evergreen Walk and added two locations: a second Leaps and Bones in Southington and The Dog Barkery at 35 Oakland St. in Manchester.

The two are parents to two Jack Russell Terriers, Zelda and Hemi.

Amy Kenkel

Who she is: Owner, with Laurie Surprenant, of Leaps and Bones, a pet supply and bakery in South Windsor and Southington, and The Dog Barkery in Manchester.

Hours: Leaps & Bones in South Windsor: Monday- Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; The Dog Barkery: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Quote: "Everything always has a reason behind what we put into the cookie. We try to make sure that there's always not just enjoyment benefit for the dogs, but also a health benefit as well."

Online: leapsandbones.com

Though Connecticut native Surprenant was there from the beginning, she remained working in the corporate world until 2015, when she joined Leaps and Bones as vice president of strategic development.

Kenkel, who is president of the operation, said she first learned how to bake while going to school in Oakland, Iowa, a small town on the border of Nebraska, about 30 minutes from Omaha.

Transitioning to baking for dogs wasn't so hard.

"It was an easy transition because a dough is a dough," Kenkel said. "We had pretty simple recipes. We've added some. We've refined some."

She earned her bachelor's degree in education from Iowa State University, and took a career path in a seemingly surprising direction, the casino industry.

"I started in an entertainment division that worked at different casinos and that's what ultimately led me out here," Kenkel said.

The entertainment was for children. Kenkel worked for Kids Quest, a childcare organization that looks after children at casinos while parents head out to gamble or see a show.

"I worked at casinos in Iowa and then casinos in Missouri, down in Kansas City for several years, Michigan, and then ultimately out here," Kenkel said, going to work at Mohegan Sun in 2001.

The one constant in her life, though, was her love of dogs.

"The running joke when I was a little kid was I was going to be a veterinarian," she said, "but also a running joke was that I did not like science in school, so I was not gonna be a veterinarian.

"They unconditionally love us," she said of dogs. "They're happy when you're around. They're happy to see you. They want to be with people and they want to have love and give their love. You can't have a bad day when there's a wagging tail."

After leaving the casino world, Kenkel said, she tried working in the hospitality business, but found it exhausting and needed to do something else.

Grew like Topsy

During this time, Kenkel said, she would bake dog treats for friends, family, and neighbors as holiday gifts. Some of the neighbors suggested she turn it into a business.

She took their advice and decided to open up the first Leaps and Bones at Evergreen Walk in 2008. The store is still open, having relocated to a larger shop in the shopping district in 2015.

"When we moved there, we thought we had grown exponentially because we doubled our size there," she said. "Then we opened our Southington location in 2021." That was followed about a year later by The Dog Barkery.

"Our bakery was in the back of Evergreen Walk, and we had outgrown ourselves and we could not keep up with the demand of our Evergreen Walk location and our Southington one," she said. "We knew we needed to expand the bakery. That is what led us to here (Manchester). We were looking for a place that we would be able to bake all of our dog biscuits and treats."

Core treats that the business partners have stuck with from the beginning, she said, include peanut butter, and the cheese and bacon.

"We've refined several of our recipes and refined what we're looking for over time," she said. "We started with the same core beliefs, that we wanted to offer something healthier and better than the box stores had available for the dogs. There really weren't a lot of alternatives or healthy options when we first opened. That was our goal."

Changing menu

Like any food place, Kenkel said, they rotate their selections to fit the season.

"We have seven options that are on the menu every day," Kenkel said.

"Every quarter we offer new selections as well. We've done Breakfast Surprise, which is a sweet potato hash and we did chicken and waffles too. We did a pizza. We did an Asian bistro and right now we're getting ready to roll up mocktails. So we've got a pina colada and some daiquiris.

"That's probably the most fun we have is coming up with new ideas and coming up with new creations.

"We always have new items and if something becomes really popular, then it becomes a mainstay," she said.

"The pizza is a prime example of that. Our pizza crust is bacon-inspired pizza. Because dogs love pizza crust so much, we decided to come up with a dog pizza bone that tastes like pizza crust."

Fresh breath is a common interest for dog owners, and Kenkel has created the Breath Buster cookie to combat the issue.

"We wanted something for the immediate breath freshening, so we added mint in there," she said. "Then we decided to add coconut because that's anti-microbial. So you're going to have a long-term effect of freshening breath. Everything always has a reason behind what we put into the cookie. We try to make sure that there's always not just enjoyment benefit for the dogs, but also a health benefit as well."

Business expansion

To make sure everything from Leaps and Bones is healthy, Kenkel said she follows guidelines she learned from earning a certification in animal nutrition.

Recently, Leaps and Bones received several grants, including one from the 2022 Women's Business Development Council and one through the Connecticut Manufacturing Voucher Program. Eligible companies can receive vouchers up to $50,000 to purchase specialized equipment or expertise that will help improve operations.

Surprenant said the grants are going toward production to help increase their manufacturing of dog treats.

"We're looking for wholesale distribution nationally," she said. "At this point, we're not growing anymore. Brick and mortars right now, I think — with inflation and the tide that we're fighting in rising costs and real estate in Connecticut being so expensive— you have to be in a prime location unless you're willing to spend thousands of dollars in advertising, which we're not willing to do.

"Wholesale pays the bills, is what I always say," Surprenant said. "Retail is the fun money. We need to get the wholesale up and running, now that we have the capacity and the productivity capability."

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