GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On a Friday night just before dinner time the sidewalks along Wealthy Street are buzzing with the activity of people getting off of work and getting ready to enjoy a nice summer weekend in West Michigan.
But as busy as the area is, the folks at All In Hospitality noticed something missing.
"If you walk down Wealthy Street, there's not a whole lot of places that are dog friendly, especially in the summertime for you to go and just kind of hang out," said Ciara Taylor who serves as the operations manager for All In.
So the group decided to open up what they call a "Barking Lot" outside one of their restaurants, the Winchester.
"It's a really awesome outdoor area, you can play yard games and hang out with not just your dogs, but your friends, a little bit of interacting with just your local neighbors and just getting everyone involved in the community. And then of course, the killer food," Taylor said.
The Barking Lot has a food truck with its own menu and drinks.
"If you love grilled cheese, definitely come on down," Taylor said.
"That's what we want to see - just people getting out and involved more in the community and just getting to know each other again, especially after the last three years. We've all spent enough time away from each other, so just getting people out and mingling again, is more the concept of it. And then now you just get to have fun and bring your dogs with you too."
The Barking Lot is open Wednesday through Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m.
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