10 Questions With Greg Shell Of Shell's Feed And Garden Supply

In the late summer of 1961, Shell’s Feed and Garden Supply, Inc. opened the doors to its family-owned Tampa-based store without even so much as a cash register. Almost 60 years later, Shell’s has become a household name to residents throughout the Tampa Bay area and remains rooted in family values, adaptability and a transcendent work ethic.

Patch discusses this in detail with Shell’s Feed and Garden Supply President Greg Shell, highlighting what sets Shell’s apart from other pet supply distributors and the future of the business.

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Patch: What sets Shell’s apart from local pet food locations?

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Shell: We help our customers determine what the best food would be for their pets by asking questions: what type of breed of animal, activity level, current health status and known allergies, for example. Pets today have complex health issues just like us humans, and perhaps unbeknownst to the pet owner, most national brands of pet food have a lot of fillers and byproducts that cause allergies and inflammation.

At Shell's, we help the customer navigate these issues instead of them having to just rely on advertisements, which can be very misleading. Finding the best pet food to match the pet owner's budget is also a key factor, and due to the amount of food we sell, it allows us to pass those volume discounts on to our customers.

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Patch: Tell us about the Shell’s Feed & Garden Supply beginnings. What’s your story?

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Shell: In 1961, my father, Charles, was 21 years old and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. After serving in the U.S. Army, an opportunity came up to buy a feed store. He invested his life savings of $1,500 and went to work, with his mother as the cashier and father as bookkeeper.

He delivered feed to farms and poultry producers as far away as Levy County as well as serving the local retail market. Shell's moved to its current location after the original building was demolished in 1967 due to the widening of Temple Terrace Highway, now Busch Boulevard, and consists of a 5,000-square-foot retail store and over 10,000 square feet of warehouse space.

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Patch: Shell’s was one of the first — and only — Purina distributors in the Tampa area back in the 60s. How has Shell’s transformed since its inception?

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Shell: We still sell several tons of Purina feed per week; however, with so much urban development around us in the past 50 years, the types of feed we sell has definitely changed. The City of Tampa now allows chickens to be raised in city limits as pets and for egg production and that contributes to a lot of our feed sales.

From our farm feed-selling roots, we have over the years expanded into the pet supply market as well, especially for dogs and cats, but also for birds, wild birds, fish, reptiles, rodents and other pet animals. We are proud of our selection of food and supplies for our customer's farm and pet needs and continue to add new items each year!

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Patch: Shell’s is and always has been a family-run business. What are the benefits of this? How does it fit into Shell’s vision and values?

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Shell: Being a small family-run business allows us to cater to the ever-changing needs of our customers. When a customer comes in with a problem, we offer the best solution possible without interference from a sales-driven corporate environment. For us, it's not just about making the sale, it's more about treating the customer as we would like to be treated. We are customer service driven instead of sales driven. We also have a real, live person that answers the phone instead of an automated assistant. We prefer it that way and our customers do, too.

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Patch: Tell us a little about the Shell’s team.

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Shell: Most of our key staff members have been with us for several years, which is great because they all have a lot of knowledge for the business to share with the Tampa Bay Community. Dax Gonzalez, general manager and vice president, started with us in high school and has been at Shell's for a total of over 12 years. Jake and Paul Davis are brothers and have been with us for several years. Jake is the assistant manager, and Paul is our warehouse manager. They are both from Ohio and were raised on a small family farm.

Lupe Martinez, our cashier, has also been with us for a few years now. She is the person that usually answers the phone. Lupe is married with two children and is also fluent in Spanish. Bobby, Dominick and Luis work in customer service and keep our shelves stocked. Bobby and Dominic were recruited from Chamberlain High School's FFA program. Our newest staff member is Marissa Byrum, and she is our social media, website and community outreach manager. Marissa holds college degrees in biology and Oriental medicine.

All of the Shell's Feed staff are dedicated to their jobs, and we couldn't do it without them.

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Patch: What supplies does Shell’s offer in the way of pet care?

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Shell: We offer just about everything for every animal in every category of pet care. We sell food and supplies for domestic and exotic birds and reptiles, aquarium and pond food and supplies, hamster, gerbil and rabbit food and supplies; and — of course — dog and cat food and supplies. Toys, treats, health supplements, oral care, cages, collars and leashes — you name it, we have it.

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Patch: Shell’s Feed & Garden Supply President Greg Shell is the mind behind the formula for the Shell’s Organic 3-3-3 Garden Fertilizer. What’s special about it?

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Shell: For years, I watched customers come into the store and buy all of these soil amendments, usually having to purchase more than they needed due to the size packaging that these ingredients came in. So, I decided to develop a fertilizer blend for organic gardeners and save them some money in the process.

When we say "it was developed by us for you," we really mean it. I am an organic gardener, so I needed this for myself as well, and we have immense success with the blend for organic gardening and all gardening soil enrichment needs.

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Patch: What advice can you offer to Patch readers who might be interested in raising or caring for chicks and chickens?

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Shell: Chickens are easy animals to raise but do need the proper environment. It only takes three to four hens to provide enough eggs for a family of four, and the manure produced by the chickens can be composted and used for fertilizer in the family garden. Come on in and talk to us or visit our website. We have lots of information under the "Live Animals" link, and more is added all the time.

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Patch: How do you envision the future of Shell’s Feed & Garden Supply’s growth? What’s next?

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Shell: We just recently launched a new website, and we will be posting blogs and articles about pet care, common gardening questions or problems and making it a virtual place of information about Shell's. Our 55-year history provides us with a lot of information that translates into helping our customers. We also have an online store under development, where customers will be able to order directly from our website.

We see expanding into the internet from both an information-sharing perspective as well as for sales as our next great leap forward. We are and always will be dedicated to our local Tampa community, and being a hometown expert expanding our reach in this field is very exciting and rewarding.

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Patch: Patch readers care about the people living and working within their communities. How can they reach out to you to learn more about Shell’s Feed & Garden Supply?

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Shell: Give us a call at (813) 932-9775 or send an email through our "Contact Us" page on our website, and we will be glad to answer any questions. Also, the best way to get to know us is to stop in and say hello! Our store hours are listed on our website.

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Photo credit: Shell’s Feed & Garden Supply