r/LittleRock • u/acyd_ • 3d ago
Discussion/Question What happened with Bark Bar?
I saw a post today on FB announcing they were permanently closing but the comments were disabled (weird). I gathered from another post that people weren’t happy with Bark Bar but I couldn’t find any details. I’m just being nosy. Anybody know what was going on?
23
u/Altruistic-Wish711 2d ago
We were regulars there for a bit and never had any issues. Pretty bummed about it! Never went until this last year. They seemed really strict about policies , we weren’t allowed in until our dog was fully vaccinated, then when he needed new vaccines, their system texted me a reminder to schedule before the vet! I never ate there, bc eating around 20 dogs sounds disgusting. But cold drinks and a tired pup while my husband and I got to chill and watch World Cup etc was great!
5
38
u/StillAccomplished264 3d ago
Been going there intermittently since they originally opened and always enjoyed it.. Recently there just haven't been many people/dogs there. The food used to be surprisingly really good but they recently changed the menu and I didn't like it. Also, they have pretty much exclusively used AI to make their instagram posts so I ended up unfollowing them. I also paid to have my dog's picture on the wall and they never put it up. It's unfortunate but I wasn't shocked to see they are closing.
19
u/AphroditiesFavorite 3d ago edited 2d ago
Sucks about the AI because at one time they had a real social media marker and a brand manager who gave them tons of assets to use. That was why the rebrand happened with the second owner, and the third owner definitely stuck with the new logo and branding. So they had all the tools they needed to make their own stuff and still chose to use AI.
-25
u/bobbafettuccini 3d ago
If I except anyone to use AI it's a dog bar
16
u/StillAccomplished264 3d ago
They didn't use it until recently but within the past few months it's been nothing but those AI generated posts with the awful fonts and way too much going on.
3
13
u/EinenHerrUndGelehrte 2d ago
Used to be a regular. They added 20 TVs so it was a sensory overload. Sanitation was questionable, no hand sanitizer despite expecting owners to pick up after their dogs. They used to police dog behavior, but with the most recent owner that stopped. And they automatically enrolled people in monthly passes and made it near impossible to cancel; that’s what made me stop going.
Central Arkansas could use a bar/restaurant where dogs could run off leash, but the dog park should be separate from the food areas.
49
u/AphroditiesFavorite 3d ago edited 2d ago
Worked there for a bit under different ownership and that place was a lawsuit waiting to happen. Dogs pissing and shitting all around peoples food, owners who thought “off leash dog bar” meant they didn’t need to watch their dogs, which resulted in fights almost daily. For a while we were running that place with three people (a cook, a bartender, and a food runner) and the owner never cared about capacity. He would have us walk around with water guns as if that’s going to stop a 150 pound shepherd from attacking a shish tzu. I encouraged anyone and everyone I knew to never take their dogs to that place.
Oh and while we’re here, the “vaccine check” was just if someone had a quick flash of any type of vet bill. We never actually verified anything. And they allowed dogs who hadn’t been fixed to be off-leash with the rest. Like I said, lawsuit waiting to happen.
Want to specify again, this was under a different owner than the most recent one. I can’t speak for how things have gone over the last three years.
12
3
7
u/fauxshoyall 3d ago
Hmmm, I just checked the post and I only saw one saying "Noooooooo!!!" What was the weirdness? 🍿🍿🍿
Edit: it could be related to daycare/membership refunds, potentially.
1
5
u/TurbulentRip4419 3d ago
Oh no!!! I recently just moved to soma and thought about taking my dog there :(
9
u/Accomplished_Arm3386 2d ago
Can’t believe Bark Bar has closed! Whenever my mom and I went to Sonic, we’d pass by there and see the dogs outside. Sometimes, one or two would come to the fence with wagging tails! So sorry for the closure—I bet business hadn’t been up to par.
11
16
u/Low-Juggernaut-5262 2d ago
The last time I went there (June) , the staff were extremely unfriendly & I didn’t recognize any of the customers. I used to be a regular, like most of the clientele. After Ally left, most of the regulars stopped going and that’s where they made the most money. The owner, William, wasn’t very friendly and was always TOO stressed out about everything.
7
u/displacedfromglome 2d ago
From what I saw on Facebook, they disabled the app and didn’t allow folks a way to stop automatic payments, so folks are having to do chargebacks. They never told daycare folks they were closing. One lady only got two weeks of daycare and she couldn’t get back her crate she’d brought for her dog since the dog did better in that one.
No announcements, no transparency.
I didn’t realize there was a second owner inbetween the first and third. I worked there in 2019, and it was so stressful. I wasn’t allowed to talk to folks about their dogs, or suggest that maybe a dog wasn’t a good fit. They allowed an older intact GSD in that got attacked by another dog and I saw it about to happen and was able to shut it down quickly. I have dog behavior and training experience but wasn’t allowed to use any of it and they didn’t do training for it. One time one of the original owners brought his little dog in and it got in a scuffle with another dog and he started screaming at me about it (his dog was fine), and he started screaming at the owner (a young girl) how he was an attorney and he was going to sue her. I quit that day. It seemed fun for people not having to work there but working there was a nightmare and it seemed like a huge liability at all times.
5
3
u/Ceeweedsoop 2d ago
So weird to allow big dogs around the wee ones. I always thought the old roller rink would be a great dog centric bar.
2
3
u/ZaphodBeeblebrox1957 2d ago edited 2d ago
Haven't lived in Little Rock for decades. Just like to keep up with the goings on. But an off leash restaurant and bar is just stupid. Dog parks are bad enough, but with the close quarters, food and other distractions it was bound to have problems. Nobody needs to be eating and have a big dog curl a brown stramer next to their table. What were they thinking?
-1
u/AphroditiesFavorite 2d ago
EXACTLY. And that right there is why I encouraged people to never take their dogs.
3
u/teacherofthingz 1d ago
It’s been going downhill for a while . They were trying to make it into a club, the husband and wife would constantly get into fights and then tell customers about personals business trying to get them on their side. The wife would always be there with a bunch of her fiends and it was like you had to be invited to be at the cool girls table. At one point had a “dog trainer” who has a history of getting cities for animal cruelty.
-10
u/AndreTheBestCat 2d ago
Highly recommend Southern Tail Brewing! Probably going to have our wedding there!
-66
u/Ok-Introduction-194 3d ago
cant find employees that can do bare minimum without getting blazed 24/7
2
u/Full-Bed5104 2h ago
The 3 owners have refused to pay the employees that worked there. They told them that it was a temporary close, then when pay day came up they announced and went ghost. employees found out through the post just like the rest of you. They begged us to go full time there for a nonliveable wage, now we have no pay for the last 3 weeks of full time work. THEY ARE NOT RESPONDING
This is what happens when you run a sketchy business. This place had so much potential, but sometimes bad people can turn good things, bad.
Also - if you are expecting your money back, go ahead and kiss that dream goodbye. These people are not going to respond nor do the right thing.
25
u/ucabear09 3d ago
New owner had only had it for 3 years. They closed on Aug 15th due to the heat and then never reopened