By Mary O’KEEFE

Critters is a long time Montrose favorite. Its old-fashioned horse and motorcycle mechanical rides in front of the store bring nostalgia of small town USA to passersby. The music, the laughter of children and parents saying “hang on” that accompanies the mechanical rides are comforting sounds that bring to mind the magical Norman Rockwell view of small town America.

For 33 years this unique, fun store has been the place to go for birthday and special occasion gifts or to find something unusual. It is almost impossible to walk into Critters without smiling.

It is that feeling that caused Ani Aratounians to leave corporate America to purchase the business.

“Nov. 19 was my first day,” she recalled.

Aratounians worked in large corporations for over 20 years, including at Nestle in Glendale, and most recently at a business in Santa Monica.

“I am a registered dietician nutritionist,” she said. “My commute had been about three hours a day because of traffic. I am a single mother and have two girls going to Rosemont [Middle School] and La Crescenta Elementary. I hardly saw them because of my job. The hours were horrible and I was done with that. I needed to do something locally so that I could spend time with my kids.”

She thought about starting her own business, opening up her own practice or maybe buying a franchise of some business. But then she learned that Critters was for sale. Her parents had been in retail for years, retiring in 2012. They had owned jewelry stores all over the country, even one outside of America in Spain.

“I was raised in a retail environment and customer service I know [very well],” Aratounians said.

She has fond memories of growing up helping her parents at their stores, and spending a lot of time with them.

“My kids are so happy. They come by and help me when they can and [when they] are not in school,” she said.

She is fixing up the back room at the store so the kids will have somewhere to do their homework. Her girls will grow up like she did … near their parent.

For the store itself Aratounians plans on changing very little though she does plan on adding her own touches. One of those has been to bring in local artists like a Montrose woman who recycles bottles by painting and embellishing them with sparkly jewels. There is also a Burbank man who finds and restores antique P.O. Boxes turning them into banks.

“Why not showcase an artist of the month?” Aratounians asked.

Another thing she is thinking about for the future is combining her knowledge of jewelry and her love of retail. She plans on creating a space to teach jewelry making. She said this way kids can come in and learn how to make jewelry, maybe incorporating it as part of a birthday party. She also wants to have a time for adults to learn to make jewelry.

Helping her with everything Critters is Kelly Callahan who has been with the store for 14 years.

“I think what makes us last is the novelty and I think we have great customer service,” Callahan said.

Like many of the businesses CVW has been highlighting, Critters has a loyal customer base that Callahan remembers well. She knows the parents and grandparents and watches Critters’ kids grow up.

She too has ideas for the business.

“I would like to implement a birthday box,” she said. “You can bring in your daughter or son and they can pick out what they want for their birthday and put it in the birthday box. Then you tell people and they come in and pick something out of the box for a [gift].”

The good news is that although the store has a new owner Critters will remain the same small town store offering unique gifts and where customers are always met with a smile.

Critters is located at 2277 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose.

  Mary Okeefe