Huntsville citizens no longer have to decide between enjoying a night out with friends or staying at home with man’s best friend. Thanks to Rocket City Dog Bar (RCDB), humans and canines alike can enjoy a night of social interaction at the same place and time.

The owners of RCDB celebrated their grand opening on Friday, January 5th, almost a full year after the idea of a dog park/bar combo was first pitched among the founding group.

“It was March 2023 when the idea kind of popped into my head and I called the guys to meet up over a Yellow Hammer to talk through it,” said RCDB co-owner Winfield (Win) Keller. “We had just found out our weekly trivia spot was closing and we started talking to others and realized that this backyard would be the perfect space for this concept. The stars kind of aligned with this perfect space and here we are today.”

The 8,000 square foot space is the former home of The Salty Nut Brewery at 2404 W. Clinton Avenue, and features a courtyard for dogs to run and play under the watchful eyes of special employees called “Bark Rangers “ while their owners enjoy one of the select local beers on tap. Passes for dogs to enter the new establishment range from $10 for a day pass up to a $230 annual pass for all of 2024.

Kellerman is very adamant that the safety of the dogs is their number one priority. The bar requires vaccination records to make sure every pooch on the premises is up to date on their shots along with a rule that requires any dog older than 4 months be spayed or neutered.

“Our number one priority is making a safe and secure place for your pet to be off leash,” Keller explained. “Throughout this whole process, a majority of the preparation has been training our Bark Rangers on understanding the signals that dogs use to communicate so that they fully understand when dogs are playing and when a certain dog needs to be removed from the yard into our safety zone. We’ve done a lot of lot of work to alleviate any fears so that when folks come here with their pets, they truly know that their dogs are safe.”

Rocket City Dog Bar is open during select hours every day of the week. For more information, please visit www.rocketcitydogbar.com.