After 28 years, The Bird House ownership changes hands

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Throughout their time working at The Bird House on Monroe Avenue in Pittsford, Liz Magnanti and Patti Pirz said they were never just employees in the eyes of store owner John Gerhard.

“He always made us feel like we owned the business,” Pirz said.

It’s more than just a feeling now. Magnanti and Pirz officially became ownership partners of the specialty store on Jan. 1.

“John decided it was time to retire, he’s 80, and none of his kids wanted it, and he wanted the store to survive and thrive,” Magnanti said. “It’s his baby.”

The Bird House has been selling bird seed, bird houses and other avian supplies from a Monroe Avenue location since 1994. Growth in both revenue and product lines prompted a move across the boulevard in 2006, followed by a pair of expansion projects at the current location at 3035 Monroe Ave. since then.

The continued increase in sales and a loyal customer base convinced Magnanti and Pirz that a move to ownership was the right decision.

“Our sales have steadily been increasing year over year, and during the pandemic people really got into birding and bird watching,” said Magnanti, who has worked at the store for 14 years and served as general manager for the past 13.

Pirz has been working at The Bird House for 12 years, most recently as the sales floor manager. Her employment began while shopping at the store.

“I was a customer and I saw a help wanted sign,” she said. “It really doesn’t feel like a job. I feel like I play all day. I love the place, I love the customers.”

This is the first venture into business ownership for the pair. Magnanti, who lives in Rochester’s South Wedge neighborhood, has a degree in wildlife conservation. Pirz, a resident of Henrietta, has a background in computer graphics technology.

But as employees and now owners of The Bird House, they’re all about providing customers with the necessary information to attract and maintain a bird-friendly backyard habitat.

“Every backyard is different,” Pirz said. “It’s an art form.”

The store has a stockpile of various seed and suet, a wide array of bird houses and bird feeders, and plenty of garden statuary and wind chimes. But it’s not all for the birds. There are also gift items, from jigsaw puzzles to holiday décor.

“People come in and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe you have all this stuff,’” Pirz said.

Online sales weren’t a part of The Bird House business model until COVID-19 hit in 2020 and prompted business shutdowns. Then it was adapt or falter.

“We had to shut our doors, so we started getting creative,” Magnanti said.

They quickly altered the website to accommodate online sales and now are sending supplies to customers as far away as California and Puerto Rico.

They also began twice-weekly Facebook Live shows on a variety of nature topics, such as “How to attract orioles to your yard” or “What birds you can see on area nature trails.” The Facebook presentations have become a part of the business offerings every Tuesday and Saturday at 10 a.m.

They plan to revive in-store educational classes once it’s safe to do so from a health standpoint.

Brick-and-mortar retail isn’t exactly the hottest investment idea nowadays. But Magnanti and Pirz believe in the business. They say their knowledgeable staff and quality products are invaluable to customers.

Grocery stores and big-box hardware stores sell bird seed.

“But there’s a lot of fillers in it so it gets tossed to the ground by the birds, or it’s old,” Pirz said. “The birds you get in your yard kind of proves it.”

Customers often are hoping that certain species of birds will become frequent visitors in their backyards. Cardinals are year-round favorites, Magnanti and Pirz said. Bluebirds may very well stay year-round when there is a heated bird bath. Orioles and hummingbirds are popular when they migrate back to the area in the spring.

“You can tell exactly when they come into town because people come in to buy jelly and nectar,” Pirz said.

Magnanti and Pirz said Gerhard is just a phone call away if they have questions. They also have friendships with other small business owners locally, as well as national contacts in the bird store business that they have met at trade shows.

But for now they plan to stick with what has been successful.

“We’ve got a good formula,” Magnanti said, “so we don’t want to mess with it too much.”

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