Sit, stay, drink. New indoor dog park, craft beer taproom opening in Modesto
Man’s best friend and man’s favorite adult beverage are coming together in a new way in Modesto.
Modesto siblings Elora Jorgenson and Mike Day are opening Bark, the region’s first and only indoor dog park and craft beer taproom. Yep, dogs and beer — you read that right.
The new facility is currently under construction in the McHenry Village shopping center. Once complete the site will have separate indoor gated play areas for large and small dogs, washing stations and a taproom serving craft beer, cider and nonalcoholic drinks.
Jorgenson has been working for years on the new concept, which will be a companion venture to her existing dog training business which she runs with her husband, former Modesto Nuts pitcher Adam Jorgenson. The two have owned Sit Means Sit dog training services in the Modesto and Bay Area since 2015.
The couple secured the 6,600-square-foot McHenry Village space — the former home to the Hands-On Educational Supply Store which moved to a different spot in the center — in March 2020. But then the pandemic turned everything upside down, and they put the project on a long pause.
But now, Jorgenson is moving full-speed ahead again with her plans, with hopes for a June or July opening this year.
While her husband is helping out with the new dog park, Jorgenson tapped her older brother Mike Day, who has a degree in industrial design, to be its chief design officer. Together they think they’ve solved what is people’s most common question about having an indoor dog park.
“Yes, it’s a dog park, but it’s not going to smell like pee. Our goal was not to cheap out, but to do this right. We wanted that positive experience,” Jorgenson said. “We don’t want to be a place that smells and we know you don’t want to drink beer in a place that smells.”
They’ve designed drainage trenches throughout each dog park area, with sloping floors covered in artificial turf that can be hosed down and sanitized. Everything, from the walls to the play structures, will be made of non-porous materials for easy cleaning. And the space will have six large fans to move air and keep everything smelling fresh.
Jorgenson and Day, both Modesto High graduates who grew up on Modesto’s west side, wanted the interior to feel like being outside — but with all the creature comforts of the inside like air conditioning, heating and draft beer taps. Once completed, the walls will have images of fields and sky, while the space’s four large support beams will be transformed into faux trees with realistic (and of course washable) imitation bark.
“We really wanted to bring the outside inside,” Day said.
The space also will have two large commercial washing stations for people to clean their pets. One corner will be dedicated to highlighting adoptable pets and area nonprofit rescues and other groups.
The team also has treats in store for the human canine companions who come through the doors. They will have craft beer, cider and hard seltzers on tap or in tall cans. They originally wanted to serve wine as well, but ABC regulations would then require the entire space to be 21-and-over, and they wanted to be able to welcome families throughout.
Now people will be able to roam through the whole space with their drinks, and they will have servers inside each gated dog area so people can refill without leaving. Each dog park also will have referees of sorts, which they’re calling rufferees for adorably obvious reasons, to keep an eye on everyone’s furry friends and make sure everyone is safe.
Bark will run on a membership system, with the basic tier granting access priced around $25 a month and two other tiers going up to about $45 a month offering more perks and services. Once open, they plan to host special dog-centric events and other social activities. For those looking to try it out or visitors to the area they’ll have a day pass system.
Jorgenson and Day already have big plans for their concept, and are talking about opening new sites in places like Las Vegas, Boston and Colorado. If successful, they said they’d like to franchise the business. So all their decisions in the pilot Modesto site must be easy to replicate across the country.
“The business model has always been to have fun and bring people together in a clean, safe environment,” Jorgenson said. “We want to provide an overall sense of community that hopefully just fills your heart — and with dogs.”
For more information on Bark visit www.barkdogparks.com or www.instagram.com/bark.dogpark
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
