MOLINE, Ill. — Teske Pet and Garden has officially been open for 100 years of business. The local shop sells small animals like bunnies and fish as well as garden and pet supplies.
Darcy Rogers has been working at the store for 48 years. It was opened by her great-great-uncle Al Teske. The store has been owned and operated by six generations of the family.
"My great, great Uncle Al Teskey opened it, and then my grandfather, Ralph being my father, Terry, and then me and my daughter, my granddaughter, and I have a lot of brothers and sisters and cousins, aunts and uncles that work here," said Rogers.
The store is holding raffles, offering deals and savings, and even hosting a petting zoo at their Moline location on March 26 and 27 to celebrate.
"It's a kind of rare these days. So we're really happy about it," said Rogers.
Max Rensberger has been a loyal Teske customer for over 30 years. He keeps coming back because of the service and family feel.
"It's a neighborhood store, it's family. They always provide anything and everything I need and they've always treated us very well," says Rensberger.
Rogers says their success comes from that friendly feeling and customer care.
"I hope our knowledge and just being here for people and caring about our customers. I know a lot of them by name. They know me. We have a lot of people come and say my grandpa used to bring me here, their mom or dad. It's nice they come back," said Rogers.
While the family has stayed the same all these years, Rogers says the store has changed drastically.
"There are less agriculture items that we are selling. We're into more home gardening, and there are a lot more pets," said Rogers.
It's a stark difference from the more exotic animals the store has seen in the past.
"We've had lions and lambs running around the store but we can't really do that anymore," said Rogers.
The changes have come but Rogers says the store will stay.
"Our customers still come back and are very loyal. And we're very pleased about that. They really supported us through all this," said Rogers.