Wichita’s new dog bar opens Friday: Pet parents must check off a to-do list before going

Kris and Traci Withrow are about to unleash their unique new business on Wichita.

On Friday, they’ll finally open their long-planned off-leash “dog bar” called Barks & Brews. It’s at 1312 E. English, which is at the corner of English and Pattie and in the same neighborhood as Central Standard Brewing and White Crow Cider Company.

The couple, who are parents to a chocolate lab named Harley, have transformed an old service garage into a dog-and-people hangout that includes a 5,000-square-foot turf-covered play yard ringed with Adirondack chairs, bordered by a covered patio and dotted with picnic tables and agility equipment. Attached to the play yard through two retractable garage doors is an indoor bar serving mixed drinks, beer on tap and Reverie coffee. Dogs are allowed anywhere on the premises.

Barks & Brews will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, from 3 to 10 p.m. Fridays, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays, and from noon to 8 p.m. Sundays. Any size or breed of dog is permitted, but before visiting, people must visit barksandbrewsdogbar.com and sign up for a membership, which requires them to upload documents proving their pets are up to date on their distemper, bordetella and rabies vaccines.

People can enter the bar for free — and don’t have to be accompanied by a dog. Dog owners can sign up for “subscriptions” ranging from $30 for a month of unlimited visits to $300 for unlimited annual visits. A single-day pass is $12, $6 for a second dog in the family. A five-pack of day passes is $60, or a 10-pack of day passes is $100.

When they first shared plans for the business in September, the Withrows heard from some detractors worried that combining dogs and drinking wasn’t the best idea. But the couple says that they’ve carefully planned how to keep all of their visitors safe.

They based Barks & Brews off of a dog bar in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, called Tucker’s Tap Yard. The owners there served as consultants for the Withrows, who adopted that bar’s list of rules and regulations. Not only must people prove their dogs are up-to-date on vaccinations, but the dogs must also be free of fleas and ticks, and if they’re older than 1, they must be spayed or neutered. No people under 16 or puppies under 4 months can visit the bar, and each member can bring a maximum of two dogs to the yard. No outdoor toys or treats will be allowed.

Additionally, the Withrows will have trained “bark rangers” monitoring the yard at all times. They’ll be watching for aggressive behavior and will break up any dog disagreements.

Visitors will enter through a sectioned-off area and will be required to leave their leashes behind when they enter the bar. They’ll be required to be attentive to their dogs, keep them under control and clean up after them. People can bring food into the bar, which will sell only bagged snacks like popcorn, but they must keep human food away from dogs.

Though big dogs and small dogs will share the yard, the bar has sectioned off areas where small dogs can take a break, and it has a “chill out” area where over-excited dogs can hang out until they calm down.

A full list of rules and regulations is available on the website.

Kris Withrow said he has more plans for the Barks & Brews. As the weather warms up, he will put out doggie pools and splash pads. He’s also hired a special events coordinator who will put together fun dog events, and during off hours, he’ll allow local dog rescue Beauties & Beasts to use the yard to exercise their dogs.

Barks & Brews has already had 80 locals sign up for memberships, even before the doors are open, Kris said. About 40 people and 25 dogs attended a recent practice run over four hours on a Sunday afternoon, he said, and there were no problems.

“Everything was good,” he said. “Everything was perfect.”

For more information or to sign up for a membership, visit barksandbrewsdogbar.com