By Kirk Pinho | Crain’s Detroit Business | Published April 21, 2023

A former bank building in Detroit’s West Village neighborhood is being converted into a dog park with a bar.

Planned for an August or September opening, Barkside, to be located at the corner of Kercheval and Van Dyke, is an effort by David Oh and Cody Williams.

Oh and Williams declined to reveal how much it’s costing to build out the 3,000-square-foot bar and a roughly 0.25-acre dog park and play area immediately west of the bank building and its covered patio. The indoor bar area will have capacity for about 35 people, while outdoors about 100 can be accommodated.

Construction is expected to start next month, and bidding for a general contractor has started. JLL is project manager and StuckyVitale Architects is the architecture firm.

“The inside doesn’t require a huge amount of work,” Oh said.

If you visit Barkside without a dog, admission is free. However, to visit with a dog, there are day passes available, or monthly or annual memberships. Pricing has not yet been finalized for those, Oh and Williams said. Veterinary records and proof of vaccinations are required.

Williams said the project consists of three main areas: An area to check in, the bar area serving craft beer, cocktails, coffee and nonalcoholic beverages, and the dog play area, which is to have another bar. Food will not be served.

“It’s just going to be a place where you can be with your dog and have a beverage,” Williams said.

Oh noted that they visited a dozen other similar bars around the country to get a feel for how others have approached the concept.

They said they are also looking for other potential locations in the suburbs and elsewhere. Williams said before settling on West Village, they looked at the Milwaukee Junction, Midtown and Corktown neighborhoods.

A rendering of the proposed Barkside bar and dog park concept planned for Detroit’s West Village neighborhood. Photo Credit: Stucky Vitale Architects

Hours have not yet been finalized, but Oh and Williams said they anticipate a Tuesday-Friday schedule where it opens around 4 p.m. and closes at 10 p.m., and then on Saturdays and Sundays, opening earlier in the day and staying open until 11 p.m.

The building is owned by an affiliate of Detroit-based developer and landlord Aamir Farooqi of Banyan Investments.

The Barkside space had most recently been targeted for a slider restaurant called Slyde, although plans for it to open in that spot fell through. Slyde’s current status is not known, but it held multiple pop-ups and had been in the works for years.