Wild Birds Unlimited

The Lee Harrison Shopping Center on Langston Boulevard has undergone many changes over time, yet Wild Birds Unlimited has remained a constant for thirty-three years. Owner Michael Zuiker has seen many businesses come and go, but the shopping center now remains relatively stable. A remodel around twenty-five years ago brought in the Harris Teeter grocery, which serves as an anchor store for all the businesses in the center and keeps the area active.

Wild Birds Unlimited is a backyard hobby shop dedicated to birds from our surrounding natural world. They focus on food, water, and shelter for the over thirty native and visiting bird species that frequent the area. Birdseed is their main product, selling nearly four tons every week. According to Micheal, they service everyone from young homeowners just getting into the hobby to returning customers who have been coming for thirty years. In fact, the first customer he had on his first day of business still comes in for birdseed every week. 

Before opening Wild Birds Unlimited, Michael had a long career with the Marriott Corporation, building franchise restaurants. When the company downsized in the early 1990s, his franchising experience caused him to seek one of his own. He inherited a love of the outdoors and nature from his father, leading him to look at the company Wild Birds Unlimited, which has franchises all over North America. Though his was the sixty-sixth franchised store, Michael has always considered his business local.

Wild Birds Unlimited has deep ties with the Langston Boulevard communities. Michael figures that he hires six to eight young people from the neighborhood each year, allowing them to learn about business, building relationships, and customer service before they move on to college or elsewhere. Beyond that, they are heavily involved in local events. They participate in the Earth Day celebration on Langston Boulevard, join in local (and sometimes national) fundraisers, and donate products to auctions for charities. Michael feels that longtime businesses like his help to provide consistency in the community; people like knowing they can get a quality product and have a place they can keep returning to. Additionally, the relationships they build with their customers give a sense of trust and a feeling of security in their customers’ lives.

Looking toward the future, Michael has a few concerns for the neighborhood. As small houses and buildings are torn down to make way for big developments or larger houses, the neighborhood is losing its tree canopy and habitat. He believes that if Langston Boulevard turns into the scale of what happened in Ballston, this could impact the birds and his business. Michael thinks it would be good to keep some smaller homes with their trees and the smaller-scale established shopping centers to keep the community and habitat whole. 

Something Michael is optimistic about is his son Asher taking over the reins at the store. Asher Zuiker Prusky started working at Wild Birds Unlimited at four years old, starring in their local TV commercials. He has grown up with the store and now works as a manager, taking on more and more responsibility for the day-to-day operations from his father. With the everchanging demographics of Arlington, Asher is bringing in new types of community marketing and outreach to a new generation of backyard hobbyists. Wild Birds has made it through recessions, 9/11 and COVID-19. As Michael puts it, as long as they keep doing the same thing they have always done – give their customers product value, great customer service, and respect – then then the future is bright.