Dog-friendly bar Bark Social to file for bankruptcy

Luke Silverman, left, and his dog Frankie and Jeff Kurtzman with his dog Brooklyn are the founders of Bark Social, which is a beer garden/cafe where people can bring their dogs. Bark Social abruptly closed all of its locations on Thursday. courtesy

Bark Social, the locally grown chain that combined a dog park and bar, closed all of its locations Thursday night.

On social media, the company attributed the abrupt decision to fundraising difficulties for the “small start-up” founded in 2019.

“Bark Social relies on investors to fuel its growth,” the post said. “The company was in the middle of a growth round when financing that was expected fell through.” Bark Social will enter bankruptcy, the company said.

The dog park, started by Luke Silverman and Jeff Kurtzman, opened its first location in North Bethesda in 2020 and another in Baltimore’s Brewers Hill neighborhood in 2021. Bark Social later added locations in Northern Virginia, Philadelphia and in Columbia’s Merriweather District, which opened just last month.

The hybrid dog park and bar offered gated space for dogs to run and play off leash, as well as coffee, beer and meals for their humans. Dogs needed a day pass or an annual membership, starting at $364.99 a year, to enter, while people could visit the park for free.

Nicholas Stafford and his pup, a 4-year-old Arabian village dog named Nala, were regulars at the Bark Social in North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose center. Stafford started buying monthly memberships in 2021 and at one point worked remotely from the dog bar nearly every day.

He said Bark Social offered a sense of community as the world began to emerge from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — a time when many adopted or bought dogs.

“People were looking for the next best thing to do,” he said. “Bark Social really served as that platform for people to re-enter society, so to speak. I have quite a few friends that I met there right after COVID, and we’re still friends today.”

Stafford said he and other regulars were blindsided by the sudden closure. When he saw the social media post, he immediately messaged a group chat comprised of Bark Social members to digest the news.

“I think the community as a whole is in shock mode right now,” he said.

The conversation quickly pivoted to ways they could help. Stafford launched a Change.org petition drive as a way to prove to potential investors that there is community support for the dog park. He hopes a financial backer might step in to save the business — or that a group of members can raise the funds.

Bark Social did not directly weigh in on whether the dog parks might be revived.

“While the company cannot predict the results of bankruptcy, it hopes the dog-loving communities it had an opportunity to grow and foster will have a place to gather again soon,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The spokesperson said Bark Social had “thousands of loyal members” and “hundreds of thousands of patrons each year.”

The company had plans to open a location in Los Angeles in 2025, according to its website.

Documents filed earlier this year with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show Bark Social was in the midst of a venture funding round and had raised nearly $5.5 million out of a $10 million goal, with 16 investors, as of April 8.

Reached by phone Friday, Kurtzman said he parted ways with the company 18 months ago.

“It’s a shame that this may just shut down and go away,” he said. “I can’t even tell you how much work we put into building these locations, not paying ourselves much at all, and to have it completely fall apart with no warning is really sad.”

He hopes the concept can be saved: “Someone’s got to think there’s some value there.”

Have a news tip? Contact reporter Amanda Yeager at [e-mail], 443-790-1738 or @amandacyeager on X.