Pets Domain warehouse to be Legana Tavern's new neighbour

Construction work has begun on the new Pets Domain store, which is being built on a vacant block opposite the Reject Shop.

Its arrival will end Legana Tavern's 20-plus year wait for a neighbour, and is expected to come in time for Christmas.

The store will also mark something of a homecoming for Pets Domain chief executive Jason van Peelen, who began the business by selling fish from his home in Launceston as a teenager.

He has since established 71 stores across the country.

"Jason's passion for fish has endured," Pets Domain said in a statement.

"The Legana store will have a dedicated AquaZone room housing an assortment of fish and live aquatic plants."

Plans submitted to West Tamar Council in 2023 showed a $1.1 million build that would include about 15 car parking spaces.

The store is expected to employ about five people.

Pets Domain once had a strong presence in Launceston.

The chain previously ran out the Zap building in Kingsway and also operated a megastore in the Bathurst Street site now occupied by Petbarn.

It heralded its return to Tasmania in 2022 with a new store in Cambridge in the state's South.