Meet Jean McGhee: Senior Buyer at Hollywood Feed

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jean McGhee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jean, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
At Hollywood Feed we invest in the communities we serve by helping our over 400 rescue partners. We hold over 1500 adoption events and microchip clinics in our stores each year. Hollywood Feed donates more than 100,000 pounds of pet food and countless other supplies to homeless pets, rescues and shelters every year. We also support local rescues via in-store and virtual events and area festivals/fundraisers throughout all of our markets including Dallas. We have made our internal education classes available for free to the public to help further educate our customer base and have remained dedicated to making our products here in America even when it would be cheaper to make them overseas. We are extremely proud of our connection with and involvement in the local community. We have sponsored several dog parks, and we also support local animal rescues via adoption and community events in every market we serve.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Something that sets us apart from others is that our customers don’t come in just to buy dog food. They come in to get advice and guidance on how to provide their furry family members with the best nutrition and quality of life – and we’re able to provide just that. At Hollywood Feed, we are proud of our commitment to produce our very own line of American-made items created right in the heart of the country, including: Hollywood Feed’s Georgia Smoked Jerky Strips featuring flavors such as chicken, venison and duck, and black bean; Hollywood Feed’s Mississippi Made line of dog beds, collars, leashes and home accessories; and Hollywood Feed’s Fresh Foods Bakery biscuits in a variety of flavors. The COVID-19 Pandemic threw some curveballs our way, but we handled it just as we have handled everything else. As an essential business, we continued to stay open to provide food and supplies to our customers and their beloved pets amid the pandemic. We worked with guidance from our local health departments and the CDC to provide the safest possible environment for our “pack” of employees and our customers alike. At the onset of the pandemic, we made the following modifications in our stores to keep customers and employees safe and comfortable: Cleaning: We have worked diligently to keep our stores clean and properly sanitized, including frequent and thorough cleaning with Registered Antimicrobial Products for Use Against Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. Social Distancing: We installed markers on store floors to provide customers with guidance so that a safe, 6-foot distance is maintained between customers and employees. Delivery: We expanded our Same-Day Delivery service in multiple markets across the Southeast and Midwest. Available seven days a week, delivery begins at 9 a.m. and orders placed by 5:30 p.m. will be delivered in about an hour, and delivery is free for orders over $49. We have our own branded delivery vehicles, drivers, and backup drivers to ensure timely delivery of goods to customer sites. Customers may check their delivery eligibility, place and pay for orders online at https://www.hollywoodfeed.com/same-day-delivery. Curbside: We also offer curbside pick-up in all of our stores so that customers can pick up pet essentials without leaving the comfort of their cars. Customers can take advantage of curbside pick-up by shopping online at www.hollywoodfeed.com and choosing “curbside pick-up” as the delivery method. Shipping: We also offer 1-2 day shipping from our website and shipping is free for orders over $49. Education: We also recently launched Hollywood Feed University, a pet wellness education resource for pet owners and pet professionals. Virtual classes are currently available free of charge on topics including pet nutrition, physical and emotional wellbeing, behavioral issues, training techniques and more. Pet experts such as veterinarians, pet food nutritionists, dermatologists and professors teach the courses and even hold Q&A sessions with attendees. Courses on a variety of topics are available at https://hfu.hollywoodfeed.com/. We are hopeful that some of the changes we’ve made as a result of the pandemic will continue to be beneficial to our customers, providing safe and easy access to the natural and holistic pet products they desire for their furry family members. We are growing, so we will also have more stores a year from now, serving more markets and customers. Currently, we serve customers in 105+ stores in 14 states.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When my best friend, Liz, and her furry child, Holly, come to visit me in Dallas, I take them to lots of our favorite spots for people (and pets). We wake up early and head to White Rock Lake to do a serious walk with our pups. Afterwards, we reward our pets, Holly and Moose, with a cookie from the nearby Hollywood Feed on Abrams. Liz and I would head into Curiosities next door to browse for some hard-to-find treasures. Now sufficiently hungry, we head right down the road to pup friendly Cane Rosso to have the best Neapolitan pizza in town and then head home for an afternoon rest. When Fish City Grill in Preston Oaks reopens, I will take her there for dinner; for now we visit one of their other locations for some fresh fish tacos. The next day we make our way to the Sixth Floor Museum to experience the life and legacy of JFK. We then enjoy the migas at Bread Winners Cafe and Bakery followed by a little shopping at St. Bernard’s. Because we hail from Memphis, the pork BBQ capital, we decide for dinner to indulge in some delicious beef BBQ from Pecan Lodge. We are lucky enough to stand in line and taste this sought-after meat gloriousness. We may even have been converted from pork lovers to Texas beef ladies. The next day we get up and grab our paddleboards and pups and head to Grapevine Lake to work off some of that BBQ. Luckily only the dogs get wet so we are dry enough to head up to McKinney to enjoy the shopping on the square followed by dinner at Sugar Bacon where we enjoy their unforgettable Sugar Bacon appetizer and Hummingbird Cake. Our final day is spent with the pups outside at Klyde Warren park where they enjoy the dog park while we sample numerous tasty treasures from a variety of food trucks. To toast our last night together, we drop our tired canine friends at home and have a wonderful dinner at Neighborhood Services where I am thrilled to see my favorite short rib enchiladas as today’s special.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family has been a great support – in fact, my husband Shawn serves as the president of Hollywood Feed. This is our family business, and we consider all of our stores family. Most importantly, the Hollywood Feed team of employees is substantially accountable for our success.

Website: https://www.hollywoodfeed.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hwfeed/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hwfeed/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/hwfeed