HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) -- Homewood staple Ed's Pet World is for sale. The business is closing after 50 years.
Ed's Pet World is known for selling and housing exotic animals all of kinds. According to the broker selling the property, the location in downtown Homewood makes it one of a kind, and the price tag of $2 million is no surprise.
For five decades, Ed's Pet World has sold animals of all kinds and acted as a petting zoo of sorts for anyone who walked through the front door.
“My daughter wanted a hedgehog real bad," said Meg Roebuck, a Homewood resident. "So we would always go down and visit them, and we were down there one time, and the worker went to pick one up, and it bit her, so that ended our hedgehog phase."
The owner of Ed's Pet World has decided to close the business, a decision that the owner of Soca Clothing, Jeff Tenner, said will help downtown Homewood.
“Literally, anything is better than the way it is right now, and again, no disrespect for Ed’s Pet World, but it's time for something else to be there," Tanner said. "The building is pretty beat up.”
According to Rachel Nichols, the commercial broker selling the property, the possibilities for the 0.7-acre lot are endless.
"The property is for sale for redevelopment," Nichols said. "It's zoned commercial. We just talked about an awesome restaurant, rooftop bar. We would love to see something really fun that contributes to the neighborhood."
According to Nichols, the animals from Ed's Pet World will move into the owner's new comic bookstore in west Homewood. The new business will continue to offer services to bring the animals to birthday parties and events.