Woof Play Eat restaurant, dog park approved in Newington: Here's what to expect

NEWINGTON — Woof Play Eat — the restaurant, dog park and dog daycare service proposed to replace the former Shogun Japanese Steakhouse — is coming to town.

The Newington Planning Board has approved an application from Rye resident Brad Sterl, the founder and president of Rustic Crust pizza company in New Hampshire, to convert the 347 Shattuck Way property. Built in 1975, the building along the Spaulding Turnpike was last occupied by Shogun, which was preceded by Asia Restaurant.

After a public hearing, in addition to a discussion of hours of operation and site noise mitigation, the board approved the application April 29. Mark Gianniny, managing principal of McHenry Architecture in Portsmouth, attended the meeting alongside Sterl, the third time the application was reviewed by the board.

The plan was first proposed in March.

A place for dogs and their people

“The intent of this space is to provide a safe, fun place to bring your dog where you can interact with your friends while your pup socializes with their friends,” said Marissa Sterl, the co-founder of Woof Play Eat and Sterl’s wife. “We look forward to bringing many opportunities to collaborate with not only the community, but with New Hampshire rescues, shelters and other dog-centered groups.”

If all goes according to plan, the Sterls hope to renovate the building and open Woof Play Eat in October.

“The building needs a significant facelift so that will take some time,” Marissa Sterl added.

How Woof Play Eat will operate in Newington

Dogs dropped off for daycare would not mingle with dogs that are present in the future park at the site, and no pooches would ever be left unattended outside, Brad Sterl told the board on Monday.

Brad Sterl and his team have visited and spoken with owners behind other similar dog park and eatery concepts around the country.

“It’s very consistent that they’re not getting complaints and a lot of them are very close to residential properties,” he said. “The majority have told us that the key is training.”

Woof Play Eat would employ a team of “bark rangers” to watch over the dogs in the daycare and dog park, he said.

“We want to be good neighbors all the way around, so that’s where we are. We’re here to abide,” he said. “We want to hear about if there (are) issues. We’ll fix them. The amount of money we’re putting into this project, the budget has gone well above what I ever imagined it would be for that building.”

Details of plans to convert former Shogun and Asia restaurant property

Roughly half of the 16,500-square-foot building is planned to be dedicated to a new restaurant and bar selling pizzas, burgers and other hand-held items. The rest of the interior will be transformed into a dog park with on-leash and off-leash areas, in addition to room for training and limited dog daycare services.

Town planner John Krebs constructed a condition of approval for the Sterls’ application regarding possible noise that would come from the site.

“It is recognized that the outdoor dog play area may result in an increase in noise trespass from the site,” Krebs wrote. “Complaints received by the town of Newington from Newington property owners should be immediately forwarded to Woof Play Eat LLC. If in the opinion of the town of Newington that noise complaints are not adequately addressed, the owners agree to discontinue use of the outdoor play area until such time as the issue is addressed to the town’s satisfaction, either through the staff and/or Planning Board.”

The approval of the Sterls’ proposal came as Wong, Mo Y Living Revocable Trust, the owner of the property, has listed it for sale for $3.9 million. It was listed by the Kane Company. The Sterls did not respond to questions about whether they are planning to buy or lease the property.

The town of Newington last valued the Shattuck Way building at just over $1.5 million, according to property records.

“Our plan is to open this location and make sure we are providing the best experience,” Marissa Sterl added. “We have plans to expand the location and bring multiple locations to the Northeast area. We strive to provide a great experience for the dog and owner and provide exceptional restaurant food at a fair price.”

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The dog daycare at Woof Play Eat is planned to be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. The dog park will be open Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and likely from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The restaurant will be open daily, with starting hours of operation being from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Woof Play Eat restaurant, dog park approved in Newington NH