The space: Unleashed Hounds and Hops is the first of its kind in Minnesota, a complete and perfect trifecta with an indoor dog park, restaurant and bar. The 10,000 square foot Minneapolis based business is within walking distance from the Basilica of St. Mary’s, international Market Square and the Minneapolis Farmers Market. Unleashed is a membership-based or pay-per-day service, but the dining room and bar area are open to the public free of charge (Good news for non-dog owners as the food, beer and wine list are incredible!)
Our work: From the get-go, The Sullivan Day Team understood the awesome power and potential of this space and worked tirelessly to bring this vision to fruition for our client. From inside the dog park, the occupants (dog owners) enjoy a relaxing venue custom designed to make your special friend feel as if they’ve won the lottery. This place even has a doggy “kissing booth” (pucker up Fido). These folks have thought of everything!!!
In warmer temperatures, owners and their canines, can step out onto the outdoor patio for some rambunctious fun with perfect and enticing views of the Minneapolis skyline.
Note to Self: Here’s a perfect day for a dog owner: Imagine leaving your precious pooch in the Unleashed indoor park to make new friends, have fun AND exercise while you saunter into the bar/ restaurant area, hang out, grab some delicious food, or even take your food and beverage back into the dog park area to hang with your special friend.
Kudos to the architects who did a wonderful job in creating such a unique and loveable space. To make it extra special, the owners of Unleashed hired a local artist/muralist to paint an impressive and massive logo in the dog park in memoriam to the pets they have loved in their lives in addition to portraits peppered throughout the space.
Unleashed “unleashed” a Kickstarter campaign and anyone who donated to this amazing endeavor was presented with an artists custom rendering print of their special pooch and which is proudly and prominently displayed throughout the dining room area.
Unleashed’s commitment to playing up the idea of celebrating the relationship between a dog and their owner is worthy of applause.
The challenges: Originally, the space was a former old, rundown warehouse in dire need of some TLC. In a previous life, the space had served as an automotive facility, and a discount sales venue. Sadly, the building itself was in general disrepair however we were able to put our heads together with the Unleashed team and architects to reincarnate the space to bring our clients unique vision to life.
One big challenge was in jumping through all of the hoops of conforming to necessary regulatory approval and licensing from the health department to animal control to the building department to the planning commission. This process took close to a year to accomplish before construction was able to commence.
The results: Fast forward to Grand Opening Weekend!
Unleashed anticipated around 50-60 dogs to take part and visit on their big opening.