By Melody Baetens | The Detroit News | Published April 20, 2023

Described as a social destination for dogs and their humans, Barkside is set to open this year in Detroit’s West Village neighborhood at Kercheval and Van Dyke.

More of a dog park with a bar, rather than a pub that allows dogs, Barkside will have indoor and outdoor spaces and bars that serve craft beers, canned wine and spritzers and nonalcoholic drinks including a full coffee bar.

The business was developed by two Detroit dog owners, David Oh and Cody Williams, who both have finance degrees from Michigan State University.

“We don’t want to take ourselves too seriously, we want to have fun with it,” said Williams. “Myself and David, we’re both dog owners, I have two, he has one. This was really born out of us taking our dogs to the dog park almost as a chore … the human interaction at a dog park is minimal. There’s a bench, if you’re lucky. We wanted to create a space that was really fun and you could meet friends there.”

Williams and Oh — who said they visited around a dozen other dog bars across the country as part of their research — also wanted to offer a space to the community. If you don’t have a dog, you can still go there and grab a drink before or after dinner (Marrow and Metropolitan Bar & Kitchen are within walking distance), get a coffee or socialize.

Barkside will host yoga, trivia and other programming that you may see at any neighborhood pub, plus dog-specific events like puppy adoptions and breed meet-ups.

A rendering of the indoor area of Barkside, Detroit’s first dog park and beer garden. Photo credit: Stucky Vitale Architects

What’s different about Barkside is that dogs will be able to roam leash-free, unlike outdoor bars that allow dogs. For everyone’s safety, owners are required to provide proof that their pet is up to date on vaccinations and Barkside will employ trained staff to make sure everyone is behaving properly.

Because they know everyone loves their pets like they do, safety for all will be a big priority at Barkside, said Oh.

“This is kind of the first concept of its kind in the Metro Detroit area, so it’s going to be a new thing for a lot of folks and we want to make sure to emphasize that we have trained staff to make sure everyone’s having a safe and fun time.”

Dogs have to be registered, and there are a few options for membership, including day passes. Pricing is still being hammered out, but there will be options for yearly and monthly memberships. Guests without dogs can enter for free.

With a total of 10,000 square-feet of space, Barkside is going to be at 7960 Kercheval. About a third of the area is indoors with a bar, dog park, secure lobby and restrooms while the rest is a fenced-in, outdoor green space with another bar, plus covered patio, TVs and seating for more than 100.

Barkside is on track to open in August or September. Follow the progress on Instagram @BarksideDetroit.