Bark Social, popular dog bar, abruptly closes all locations

Bark Social, the popular dog-friendly bar with multiple locations in Maryland, abruptly closed at the end of the day Thursday.

The company had opened its fifth location last month in Columbia, but said in a social media post late Thursday that it was “in the middle of a growth round” when expected financing fell through. Bark Social closed immediately to “do right by” its employees, its post said, and it will enter bankruptcy.

Patrons received an email regarding the sudden closure Thursday night and, on the company’s website, a banner states Bark Social “is closed until further notice.” In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Bark Social said the company can’t predict the results of bankruptcy and whether it will reopen.

“Bankruptcy can bring an array of options that we are exploring and cannot assure reopening, however, we are hopeful,” the spokesperson wrote.

The unique bars featured gated, off-leash dog parks that served coffee and breakfast items in the morning, and beer, wine and other drinks and lunch items in the afternoons and evenings. And of course, they also served treats for Fido, like pupsicles.

Bark Social locations were free for humans to enter, but dogs (who were required to be spayed or neutered and up-to-date on vaccines) needed a membership or guest pass. Annual membership cost $365 (the equivalent of $1 a day) or $40 a month; a day pass cost $15.

The company had “thousands” of members and “hundreds of thousands” of customers each year, according to the spokesperson.

Co-founded by Luke Silverman and Jeff Kurtzman, Bark Social debuted in 2021 with a location in Bethesda and soon launched four other sites: Philadelphia, Alexandria, Virginia, in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood and, most recently, in Howard County’s Columbia.

The company had plans to add a Los Angeles location in 2025; its website even listed an address for the site, in the San Pedro neighborhood of the city.

Bark Social applied in June for a liquor license from Howard County’s liquor board and received it Sept. 12, ahead of their Oct. 10 opening. That Columbia location had a 1,044-square-foot bar, a 3,680-square-foot patio and an 11,307-square-foot dog park, according to the liquor licensing decision.

Silverman, listed as the “99% interest holder” in the location, planned to hire 40 people, including three managers and eight bartenders, the application stated.

Howard County’s liquor board had experienced no issues or violations with Bark Social’s license, board administrator Kel Berg said Friday.

In a 2020 news release, Silverman, a former reality TV producer for “American Idol” and “The Bachelor,” detailed a vision of expansion for Bark Social, saying: “we have a very strategic and aggressive growth plan.”

“The goal,” the 2020 news release stated, “is to open at least three locations over the next two years and then accelerate.”