Petfolk to open first Virginia clinic in Midlothian on Friday

By Elena Vasquez

Petfolk will open its first Virginia clinic at 1008 Steam Ave. on Friday, with six exam rooms in a 2,200-square-foot space in Midlothian, Chesterfield County.

Where is the clinic opening?

The address sits within Midlothian Depot, a new mixed-use development at Midlothian Turnpike and Alverser Drive. Petfolk will be among its first businesses to open; marijuana-themed sandwich shop Cheba Hut has already opened, while anchor tenant Whole Foods plans to open later this month.

The location extends Petfolk beyond its North Carolina base in a northward expansion and makes Friday’s launch its Richmond-area debut. Petfolk did not disclose its investment in the local clinic, leaving the capital commitment unspecified.

Takeaway: The opening adds a six-room veterinary option at a retail-anchored center in western Chesterfield.

Why did Petfolk choose western Chesterfield?

Petfolk co-CEO Michael Wystrach said the company sees demand generated by western Chesterfield’s growth. “From our data, there does appear to be a veterinary shortage in that area, with increased population and increasing pet demands. So that’s an area that we think a pet parent needs options,” Wystrach said.

The report provides no sample size, study design or outside workforce analysis for the data Wystrach cited. Friday’s clinic will test whether Petfolk’s assessment translates into enough routine and urgent visits to support the location.

Takeaway: The first Virginia clinic tests Petfolk’s claim that western Chesterfield needs more veterinary capacity.

How far will the Virginia expansion go?

Petfolk expects more Virginia locations after Midlothian. “In Richmond, we’re going to focus on this one, and then look at additional parts of the Virginia market. We’re long-term believers in the Virginia-D.C. corridor. We’re going to put multiple locations in that market over the next three to five years,” Wystrach said.

The statement sets a multisite timetable rather than a single-clinic commitment. Richmond will receive the initial concentration of attention, while the wider target extends across the Virginia-Washington, D.C. corridor.

Takeaway: Virginia is a planned market, not a one-clinic experiment.

What changes for companion-animal practice?

Petfolk provides primary and urgent care, which Wystrach described as a relatively new trend in animal medicine. He said pet owners traditionally choose between their regular veterinarian or an emergency room, where costs can become very expensive; his observation is that pet parents increasingly seek urgent care first.

Petfolk’s locations offer:

• Primary and urgent veterinary care
• Dental care
• Spay and neuter services
• Diagnostic services

The Midlothian membership costs $199 per year and provides discounts on examinations and vaccinations, plus other perks. An appointment does not require membership. Wystrach declined to disclose the investment in the local clinic.

For nearby companion-animal practices, the opening creates a new provider for routine, urgent and selected preventive services. For pet owners, it combines six exam rooms with an annual membership option without making that membership a condition of care.

Takeaway: Practitioners gain a new nearby competitor, while pet owners gain a broader local access point.

What scale supports the expansion?

Petfolk has headquarters offices in New York and Charlotte, North Carolina, and currently operates nearly 50 clinics, according to Wystrach. The company ranked 160th in this year’s Inc. 5000 rankings of fastest-growing companies.

Petfolk closed a $40 million capital raise in August and has raised more than $150 million from investors since 2022, according to the Charlotte Business Journal. That financial base provides context for the three-to-five-year Virginia plan, although the announcement does not assign those funds to any named clinic.

Co-CEO Wystrach and his sister, veterinarian and co-CEO Audrey Wystrach, launched Petfolk in 2020. Wystrach had co-founded Freshly, a meal-delivery service sold to Nestlé in 2020, before starting Petfolk with his sister that same year.

Takeaway: Petfolk enters Virginia with a sizable clinic base, recent financing and a multimarket expansion plan.

What changes for food-animal medicine?

The announcement concerns companion-animal services sold to pet parents. It identifies no livestock clients, food-animal services, herd-health work or food-production activity, so it establishes no practice-level change for food-animal medicine.

Takeaway: No food-animal practice change follows from this clinic announcement.

What is the regulatory and public-health picture?

The only reference to vaccination is the membership discount; the report names no drug or vaccine product. It also reports no FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA CVM), European Medicines Agency (EMA), or US Department of Agriculture (USDA) action tied to the opening. No product-specific regulatory status can therefore be assigned.

The announcement also describes no public-health program, such as disease surveillance, reporting or food-safety work. Its immediate relevance is the delivery of local veterinary care, not a stated population-health initiative.

Takeaway: No agency action or specific product authorization is part of Friday’s opening.