Diamond D Feed & Supply Company Celebrates First Anniversary
Customer Appreciation Day Being Held October 8

Left to right: Marc Song, Harlee McCluskey, Jama McCluskey, Billy Fowler, Cory Thompson and Chris Robinson.

by Laura Calverley

Marc and Robin Song are celebrating their first anniversary as owners of Diamond D Feed and Supply Company this month. In the past year, they have increased the product line and made several improvements, including a new Web site that soon will keep customers updated on local news and events.

To show their appreciation to customers, the Songs are planning a big anniversary sale event on Oct. 8.

“We’ll be having Customer Appreciation Weekend Oct. 8 and 9,” Marc Song said. “The big day is Saturday. There’ll be hot dogs and soda. Horse vendors will be here and we’ll be raffling off some prizes.”

When Song took over Diamond D, his background was in retail marketing and the food industry, and he has applied his merchandising expertise to improve the business.

“We’ve re-merchandised the entire store,” he said. “We have increased the number of products, we’ve added tack and now have a full wall of leather and halters.

“We have also added an engraving machine for dog tags, equine plates and halter plates. No one else in town was doing it. In the first month, we sold over 100.”

Diamond D is the largest independent retailer for Nutro pet food in San Diego County and the exclusive dealer for Kruse grains and Associated Feed. The next-closest vendor in the area with Associated Show feed is in Valley Center.

“It still amazes me how much bagged feed and grain we sell,” Song said. “We get two full semi-truckload containers every week.”

Diamond D is known in the community for its friendly and helpful staff members, who can offer customers advice on everything from feeding a pregnant mare to knowing where to buy chickens. The store also is a resource center connecting customers to others in the business; don’t miss the pile of business cards at the desk.

Diamond D has a good customer base, Song says. Many breeders who have large and small animals shop at the store, and they also buy their dog and cat food at Diamond D.

“We’d like to let others know that we have a full line of dog, cat and bird food,” Song said. “People don’t know we carry Wellness, which is a natural, human-grade dog food. We also have a huge selection of dog collars and we have the cheapest wild-bird food in town. People don’t have to go down the hill for these things.”

Diamond D’s new Website is www.diamonddfeed.com. In addition to information on Diamond D’s products, the site soon will have an events page that lists local happenings such as dog and horse shows, and news items pertinent to local ranchers such as information on dryland distemper, a current problem. Residents also will be able to send Diamond D news for the Web site, which will be added for free. Diamond D is located at 444 D Street at the corner of 5th and D.

“We have very loyal customers,” Song said. “And we sincerely appreciate all of them.”

Photo by Darrel Kinney