Robert Perez is hoping to bury the competition with his new Simi Valley-based casket business.

With his business partner, Eric Rose, Perez has opened the Heritage Memorial Center, the first casket store in east Ventura County.

The store at 795 E. Los Angeles Ave. carries about 30 caskets, with prices beginning at $600.

If a shopper doesn't find the right one in the 700-square-foot showroom, he or she can peruse catalogs that contain an additional 50 caskets.

Caskets for all religions and traditions are available, as well as caskets for veterans and ones made out of stainless steel. Delivery is free to the burial site of the family's choosing.

"We want to let the community know that they can come to our store no matter where they want to bury their loved ones," Perez said.

Funerals can often be both emotionally and financially draining.

"A lot of families face high funeral costs, so our store aims to help families by eliminating the overspending," Perez said. "A family can go to any funeral home they choose, come to our store and purchase the casket at a better price and then we'll deliver the items."

In addition to caskets, the store also sells stationery packages, prayer cards, a large variety of register books, urns, unique floral arrangements, monuments, cemetery markers and video tributes.

"For the video tributes, the family brings in pictures of the loved one who has passed, and we prepare a video of their life set to music," Perez said.

Perez, who's been in the funeral business for five years, and Rose, who has 15 years of experience, met when Perez started doing video tributes for Rose's burial business.

They discovered they had similar ideas and decided to go into business together, according to Perez. The Heritage Memorial Center opened on Aug. 1.

"I was very curious to see how it would turn out since we are the first business of this type in the area," Perez said. "It took a while to get started, but we're doing great now."

For Perez, the business offers rewards far beyond money.

"I really do enjoy helping people out. When I lost one of my loved ones not too long ago, I wish I would have had the opportunity to come to a store like this one, where I could have saved a lot of money," Perez said. "A store like this would have made things a lot easier at a better price."

Perez and Rose are looking into opening an Internet store and eventually expanding elsewhere.

For more information about the Heritage Memorial Center, call (805) 523-6250.