Being able to take your pooch with you — to one of the local dog-friendly parks or foothills trails or the Greenbelt — is one of the perks of living here. But, doggone it, sometimes you just want to sit a spell and have an adult beverage and snack. And while there are some dog-friendly restaurants and bars around, they are few and far between — and mostly cater to the human side of the equation, leaving your furry friend to beg for table scraps at best. But now, there’s a place where you both can be catered to — and you don’t have to worry about rain or reservations.
Clubhound is a 100,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor community gathering space for humans and dogs with off-leash play areas and “ruffarees.” There’s a coffee spot and a bar for humans plus rotating food trucks — and a menu for your furry friends, as well.
The business, which founder Jake Whitlock along with partner Julie Emerick launched in mid-July, is housed in an old converted concrete factory in Garden City. Its mission: “to create joy and foster connections among people and pets by providing a welcoming and safe environment for all.” The brainchild of Whitlock, he said he got the idea for Clubhound when people were isolating during the pandemic “and I started learning about the loneliness epidemic spreading across the country,” Whitlock said. “We wanted Clubhound to create joy and bring people together.”