Dani, the owner of La Manada
By Mike Stoltz
If you are of “un-certain age” and you have an empty nest supplanted by “man’s best friend” or if you are just one of those sappy, romantic dog lovers, you’ll want to read on about two terrific businesses I’ve come across since I arrived here 12 weeks ago.
But who am I to crown certain businesses and not others? For starters, I have only been in San Miguel de Allende for a few weeks, so my experience plowing through the terroir is pretty limited. That being said, I could be a freak of nature or something worse in that I have this sick entrepreneurial gene that has co-opted my entire adult life with 13 different businesses in all three sectors, i.e., retail, professional, and service. Before I moved to San Miguel, I was a popular guest speaker at two Southern California universities to students for their entrepreneur graduate programs. I’m a far cry from an academic. In fact, I’m a college drop out, but I guess my myriad of anecdotes from my horrors and joys of small businesses keeps the kids awake during the block of study where they are required to study the 200-page commercial air lease-think of reading “War and Peace” backwards. So, in short, I believe I’m uniquely qualified to pass judgement on businesses here in San Miguel de Allende and rave about others. And I’m looking forward to showcasing exemplary businesses, large and small, over the next couple of columns and periodically.
My assessment of businesses here ranges from excellent, to needs improvement, to you’re kidding, right? And the jury is still out on a few. I’m sorry to say, for the most part, San Miguel has been a disappointment when it comes to professional services (excluding medical). Moreover, that cottage industry of integrating ex-pats could be a real opportunity for savvy entrepreneurs with good organizational and follow-up and follow-through skills. And don’t get me started on motorcycle dealerships—that’s the “you’re kidding, right?” I’d solve all the problems here myself, but my friends and family have a taser pointed at my heart should I even contemplate another business. But I lament ad nauseam.
Let’s talk about happier moments here in San Miguel. Let’s talk about BARF. “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.” Founded by vegetarian and nutritionist Dr. Ian Billinghurst, the principle is to feed dogs the diet they evolved to eat in the wild, that is to say, a raw diet composed of meats and greens that are fresh, uncooked, and wild. Tomas Duarte took his love of the canine to the next level when he started his business selling BARF to locals six years ago. With the vast success the business has had locally, he is now in the process of expanding a distribution center to the four corners of Mexico City. His ingredients are chicken bone meat, which lacks the excess in protein, and includes organs such as the gizzard, heart, and liver, all from an organic local farm. Before you get yourself all bunched up in a fit requiring peptobismic relief, think about it; that is what dogs consumed from the dawn’s age. And I can say from experience, when I go on the turd brigade in our yard, there is at least a 50% reduction in waste, which has to say something positive about the absorption of nutrients. After just three weeks of BARF consumption, our pups’ fur feels and smells like the dogs recently returned from a trip to Gstaad. Tomas prepares 1000s of servings per month. They come in 750 gram bags and sell for about US$2.75 per bag. I was accustomed to buying Merrik at PetSmart, but the cost is exactly 100% over that in California. They must ship that stuff over on the Concord. In any event, I’m a new BARF fan, and it could be worth exploring, but where?
Where else? La Manada (The Pack). Dani Alvarez left marketing for big retail like Coca-Cola and high tech because she’s a veritable dog whisperer and whip-smart. She saw a need for busy people and expats in San Miguel who would need a genuinely thoughtful, loving, and caring environment which serves as a long-term hotel to daily care whilst their owners engage in the daily drama of setting up their lives here and unknotting the mistakes heaped on them by not-so-swift local business consultants. Dani’s business is also on the ascension, like any good business serving a niche for busy folks and new expats like the community we have here.
Moreover, Pet Vet is just next door to Manada, and Dani even came to help translate at Pet Vet when we had a scary incident with our puppy, George. Dani is always on site and attentive as can be with daily videos sent to your phone of your pup playing in La Manada. My mother in-law, who started the largest answering service in Santa Barbara County, said something many years ago to me in a small café that I never forgot and used as a basic tenet to all of my businesses. She looked down at a miniature flower vase with just a few fresh cut flowers in it and said, “In business, it’s the little things that matter.” Dani Alvarez is one of those entrepreneurs who mirrors that sentiment with warmth and grace. Further, the one-stop-shop of daycare, organic food, and veterinary services with parking and easy road access is great time management.
