That Fish Place - That Pet Place

What That Fish Place - That Pet Place does

That Fish Place - That Pet Place is a privately held, family-owned omnichannel pet supply retailer founded in 1973 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by Bernie and Sandy Lebowitz as a small aquarium store. The company operates an 88,000-square-foot flagship retail superstore that functions as both a destination shopping experience and the operational backbone for its e-commerce business, featuring interactive exhibits including a stingray touch tank, a fish room with thousands of freshwater and marine fish, reptile and small animal areas, a screened aviary, an in-house grooming salon (That Groom Room), and an embedded pet adoption center operated in partnership with Centerville Pet Rescue.

The product portfolio is horizontally diversified across seven categories — aquarium supplies (the founding and primary category, spanning tanks, filters, heaters, lighting, water treatments, medications, livestock, and live plants), dog, cat, bird, reptile, small pet, and pond/wild bird supplies — sourced from brands such as Fluval, Aqueon, Marineland, Seapora, Tetra, API, Zoo Med, and Penn Plax. The e-commerce site (thatpetplace.com), live since 1996 and evolved from a mail-order catalog business started in the early 1980s, ships across the U.S., Canada, and internationally, supplemented by phone ordering and in-store pickup for Pennsylvania customers.

The business model is direct-to-consumer retail with four revenue streams: in-store sales, e-commerce/online sales, phone and catalog orders, and grooming services. Pricing is unit-based across a wide range ($3.99 consumables to $1,299.99 capital items), supported by loyalty programs (Pet Rewards, Astro) and promotional codes (SITEWIDE10). The company was sold by the founders' children (Scott and Beth Lebowitz) to long-time employees Rick and Chrisi Amour in 2015, who subsequently broadened employee ownership. There are no institutional investors, no disclosed funding rounds, and no proprietary technology platforms; the company employs 101–250 people across its single Lancaster location and digital operations.

Name

That Fish Place - That Pet Place

Legal name

That Fish Place - That Pet Place

Website

https://thatpetplace.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

That Fish Place - That Pet Place is a family-owned omnichannel pet supply retailer founded in 1973 in Lancaster, PA, operating an 88,000 sq. ft. flagship store and the thatpetplace.com e-commerce site selling aquarium, dog, cat, bird, reptile, small pet, and pond supplies to U.S. and Canadian consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Supplies Retail

NAICS

Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers (45991), Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (81291)

akta.pro primary industry

Aquarium & Fish Supplies Retail (CRALAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pet Supplies Retail (CRALAIAI), Pet Cleaning & Habitat Maintenance Retail (Cage/Aquarium cleaners, filters) (CRALAHAN), Pet Bedding, Crates & Carriers Retail (CRALAHAF), Small Animal Supplies Retail (Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters) (CRALAHAL)

Keywords

• Pet supplies retail
• Aquarium supplies
• Fish livestock
• Pet grooming services
• Pond equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Lancaster

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Store Sales: In-store sales from 88,000 sq. ft. superstore featuring aquarium displays, fish room, reptile area, small animal corner, bird aviary, grooming salon, and pet rescue adoption center.
2. E-commerce / Online Sales: Online sales through thatpetplace.com, shipping products across the U.S. and Canada. Website launched in 1996, evolving from mail order catalog business started in early 1980s.
3. Phone / Catalog Orders: Traditional phone ordering available, originating from mail order business that began in early 1980s.
4. Grooming Services: In-house grooming salon (That Groom Room) providing pet grooming services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

That Fish Place - That Pet Place is a pet and fish supplies retailer that operates an 88,000 sq. ft. flagship retail superstore in Lancaster, PA and an e-commerce website (thatpetplace.com). The company sells aquarium supplies (filters, heaters, tanks, water treatments, medication, live fish, corals and plants), dog, cat, bird, reptile, small pet, pond, and wild bird products, and offers in-store pet grooming services.

Product overview

That Fish Place - That Pet Place is a family-owned pet supply retailer founded in 1973, operating both an e-commerce platform (thatpetplace.com launched in 1996) and an 88,000 sq. ft. retail superstore in Lancaster, PA. The company offers a comprehensive pet supply portfolio across aquarium supplies (their founding category including filters, heaters, tanks, water treatments, test kits, and live livestock), dog, cat, bird, reptile, and small pet supplies, pond supplies, and wild bird products. The core aquarium product line includes Fish Tanks & Fish Bowls (2.5-210 gal), Fish Tank Heaters (5W-500W), Fish Medication (bacterial, fungal, parasitic treatments), Filter Media & Cartridges (biological, chemical, mechanical), and Aquarium Livestock (freshwater/saltwater fish, corals, live plants). Featured brands include Fluval, Aqueon, Marineland, Seapora, Tetra, API, Zoo Med, and Penn Plax. The company differentiates through their extensive retail experience featuring interactive exhibits (stingray touch tank, fish room, aviary) and community involvement including pet rescue programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aquarium Supplies
• Dog Supplies
• Cat Supplies
• Bird Supplies
• Reptile Supplies
• Small Pet Supplies
• Pond Supplies
• Aquarium Livestock
• That Groom Room - Pet Grooming Services

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Centerville Pet RescueminorOthersCenterville Pet Rescue adoption center is located INSIDE That Fish Place - That Pet Place. Provides the public opportunity to meet cats and kittens looking for homes. Rescue works to support the community through animal rescue, care, adoption, foster care, and veterinary transport. Volunteers maintain the adoption center at the store location.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Amazon: Dominant online marketplace carrying the full breadth of pet supplies and aquarium equipment that TFP-TPP sells. Sets baseline pricing and shipping expectations across virtually every SKU in TFP-TPP's catalog.
• PetSmart: National big-box pet retail chain offering supplies, grooming, training, and in-store veterinary services across all pet categories that TFP-TPP serves. Competes broadly on assortment and price, and increasingly on services (grooming) where TFP-TPP also operates.
• Petco: National pet retail chain with stores, e-commerce, grooming salons, and veterinary services. Overlaps with TFP-TPP across dog, cat, aquarium, bird, reptile, and small animal categories, and competes for the same multi-species household pet owner.
• Pet Supplies Plus: Largest independent pet retail franchise in the U.S., operating neighborhood-format stores with supplies and grooming across multi-species categories. Comparable mid-market multi-channel pet retail footprint competing for similar household pet owners.

Regional players

• Hollywood Feed: Regional multi-store pet retail chain in the U.S. Southeast/Mid-South offering supplies, grooming, and self-service wash. Comparable multi-channel specialty pet retail model at sub-national scale.
• Pet Food Express: California-based regional pet retail chain with stores, grooming, and community focus. Operates a similar neighborhood/specialty model emphasizing expertise and customer relationships, comparable in positioning if not geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• Chewy: Largest pure-play online pet supplies retailer in the U.S., selling food, supplies, and pharmacy products across the same multi-species categories (aquarium, dog, cat, bird, reptile, small pet) as That Fish Place. Directly comparable on e-commerce assortment, customer base, and pricing dynamics.
• Marine Depot: Online specialty retailer focused on aquarium supplies, equipment, and livestock for freshwater and saltwater hobbyists. Direct competitor in the aquarium subcategory that anchors TFP-TPP's identity.
• LiveAquaria: Online specialty retailer of aquarium fish, plants, corals, and supplies — a direct competitor in the core aquatic/hobby category where TFP-TPP has its deepest expertise and live livestock offering.

Emerging players

• Aqua Imports: Online specialist in live freshwater fish, plants, and aquarium livestock. Overlaps with TFP-TPP's most differentiated category (live aquarium livestock) where hobbyist demand and shipping logistics drive competitive dynamics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thatpetplace
• Xx.com/thatpetplace
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/that-fish-place---that-pet-place

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about That Fish Place - That Pet Place