Photo by Erin Nelson.
Tiffany McKinney bathes Sky, an Australian shepherd, during a grooming appointment at Scenthound Lee Branch in Hoover. Scenthound is set to open a new location in Mountain Brook Nov. 1.
Brett Basik was working as an investment banker on Wall Street and Jacob Lee was working for a well known consulting firm. In 2021, the friends decided to go into business together.
“We had always dreamed of being entrepreneurs and had that itch and were talking about it for about a year,” Basik said. “We pulled the trigger and did it this past summer [in 2021].”
The duo opened their first Scenthound location off U.S. 280 in Greystone’s Lee Branch shopping center in February 2022. The business is a wellness-focused concept to keep dogs clean and healthy.
Basik graduated from Briarwood Christian School and Lee is from Nashville. They said they are excited to open their businesses near where they grew up.
They attended Auburn, where their wives were in the same sorority, but the two never crossed paths until they were in business school at the University of Virginia.
Lee said while they were in the process of looking at different businesses and franchises, he remembered a colleague had told him about a business she had opened in South Carolina (Scenthound), and they were interested in the concept.
They are preparing to open their second location in Mountain Brook on Nov. 1 and are already signing up members. Their goal is to open 10 stores over the next four years, including four in Birmingham and six in Nashville.
Scenthound focuses on dogs’ overall health, and their routine care covers skin, coat, ears, nails and teeth. After the appointment, owners receive a copy of their dog's report for each item, rated on a scale from one to five.
Scenthound also offers a membership model, making it a consistent monthly event for pet parents and their dogs. The basic package includes a bath, nail trim, ear cleaning and teeth brushing.
Other add-on services include haircuts, dog facials, deshedding treatments and more. 24/7 tele-vet access is also available at an additional cost.
“With our focus on routine maintenance and basic hygiene for dogs, there is nothing quite like Scenthound in the Mountain Brook community and we felt we could serve a unique need,” Lee said. “Being right off U.S. 280, our location is super convenient to all over-the-mountain neighborhoods.”
Bobby Turner, manager of the Lee Branch location, will launch the Mountain Brook store, which will open with around eight employees.
“We're providing that easy button for people where they can be great dog parents and don't have to think much about it,” Basik said.
Scenthound will be located at 354 Hollywood Blvd. and will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Lee said he and Basik have already signed the lease for their third store, which will be located in Hoover by the Sprouts grocery store, and they plan to open in late 2022 or early 2023.
