果酱视频

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Bar K, a combo bar and dog park with a location in 果酱视频, was once set to be purchased by a national management firm that aimed to take it nationwide. For co-founders Leib Dodell and Dave Hensley, the business was set to be their most successful experiment.

But on Tuesday, less than two years later, Bar K鈥檚 owners were telling customers over email that the company was closing the doors 鈥減ermanently, effective immediately鈥� on all of its locations 鈥� in Kansas City, 果酱视频 and Oklahoma City 鈥� after a stretch of financial challenges.

The bar鈥檚 customers, who pay monthly or yearly membership fees and who may have renewed their memberships recently, wouldn鈥檛 be getting any refunds, the owners said. Rates ranged from a discounted $25 per month to $500 annually, according to the Bar K website.

鈥淲e regrettably do not have the resources to issue refunds,鈥� the owners said in the email, instead promising a future 鈥減ackage of benefits鈥� for customers. The owners didn鈥檛 elaborate on what that package would include.

Some employees didn鈥檛 find out they would be losing their jobs until news reports hit Tuesday, said Aries Cosby, who had worked at the 果酱视频 location for the past year. Others got the news via email, Cosby said. Owners finally announced the closure to all staff via the company group chat later Tuesday morning.

鈥淚t鈥檚 terrible, especially for the people who are covered through their job鈥檚 health insurance,鈥� Cosby said. 鈥淓specially with it happening right at the end of the month, it鈥檚 like there鈥檚 no grace period for anyone to figure out what they鈥檙e going to do.鈥�

Bar K first opened as a much smaller pop-up in Kansas City in 2017, Dodell, who declined an interview, said in a written statement Tuesday. From there, it expanded to 果酱视频 in 2021 and Oklahoma City in 2023.

The company鈥檚 sprawling, two-acre complex in 果酱视频, near South Vandeventer Avenue and Interstate 44, included an event center, dog park, three bar areas, indoor and outdoor restaurants, and pet boarding and grooming services.

Within a year, membership at the 果酱视频 location had surpassed that of the original location in Kansas City, with over 3,000 households.

鈥淲hen Bar K was buzzing with happy people and dogs, the energy was unlike anything else I have experienced,鈥� Dodell said, in his statement. 鈥淯nfortunately, despite best efforts, the business could not be sustained.鈥�

In 2023, Arizona-based management company Diversified Partners announced it was in talks to purchase Bar K and take the company nationwide 鈥� over 100 different locations were in the pipeline, officials said at the time.

But that deal eventually fell through, even as Bar K opened its Oklahoma City location that year.

Dodell said a new 鈥渓eadership team鈥� took over the business in 2024. He declined to elaborate on who they were or what role they played at Bar K.

Dodell was still listed in business filings as Bar K鈥檚 owner on Tuesday, but it鈥檚 unclear whether he or his co-founder, Hensley, were still involved in running the company.

Trouble for Bar K flared again last year, when its 果酱视频 landlord, Green Street, attempted to evict it over almost $300,000 in unpaid rent.

The developer eventually dismissed the eviction after a settlement.

The eviction and Bar K鈥檚 closure are flash points in a troubled saga for Green Street that has included mass layoffs, 果酱视频 suing the developer for more than $36,000 in unpaid taxes, a $24 million lawsuit brought by Peoples National Banks and numerous lawsuits by private contractors who say they were never paid for their labor.

Bar K鈥檚 owners said their decision to close the business was prompted by a 鈥渧ariety of challenges,鈥� including 鈥渋nflationary costs and expenses, an extremely difficult labor market and sharply reduced consumer spending,鈥� according to an email they sent to customers on Tuesday.

An announcement on Bar K鈥檚 website also cited trouble at each of the company鈥檚 locations, but didn鈥檛 elaborate on what specifically played into the closure of the 果酱视频 location.

Cosby, the Bar K worker, said they could, in retrospect, see the end coming.

After Bar K settled with Green Street over the pending eviction, owners doubled membership fees, which caused some customers to cancel their memberships. Then owners cut other costs, laid off some workers, and declined to buy new equipment, Cosby said.

The austerity, Cosby said, heightened turnover at the 果酱视频 location. In less than six years, they had six different managers.

鈥淚n the past few months, it鈥檚 been a constant switch out of people coming in, quitting, coming in, quitting,鈥� Cosby said. 鈥淓very time someone left, things would decline.鈥�

Dodell didn鈥檛 say whether trouble with Green Street or the collapse of the 2023 purchase talks played into Bar K鈥檚 closure.

鈥淲hile I deeply regret the outcome of this business venture, I am hopeful that the work we have done here may be useful to future entrepreneurs who will pick up on this mission, work out the kinks and take the joyful dog-human social experience to the next level,鈥� Dodell said in his statement. 鈥淭he world will be a better place for it.鈥�

On Tuesday afternoon, Bar K was largely empty. A handful of employees went in and out of the building, carrying cleaning supplies and locking doors.

The dog park out back was vacant.