Justin Henry has a pair of Rottweilers, ages seven and eight. He can't take them everywhere, but he'd certainly like to. Specifically, a place where he could drink and have the dogs with him. With that in mind, last April he took over the former Priddy Auction Galleries space at 5411 Leetsdale Drive, and he and his brother Jerad, along with general manager TS Smith, have been converting it into the Watering Bowl ever since. The place, which he dubs "your best friend's bar," is slated to open this Friday, October 18.
Henry had originally hoped to open the dog-friendly Salty Dog in the former Mo's space at 1037 Broadway two years ago, but the deal fell through. With the Glendale spot, he has a lot more space to work with: 13,000 square feet inside, with and 7,000 square feet outside for a fully fenced-in private dog park. "I would say late April to October, I can envision where the building itself is dead, but you have a two-hour wait list to go out on the patio," Henry says. "As of right now, all dogs are outside."
The Watering Bowl has a fully stocked regular bar and a wine bar on the main level, as well as another bar and two VIP lounges upstairs. There will be a number of local craft beers available, including varieties from Breckenridge Brewery, Oskar Blues and Dry Dock. In keeping with the dog theme, drinks will be named after dogs or breeds, and areas of the bar are named after dogs, as well, such as Pug Parlor, Hound Dog Hall, Terrier Terrace. Chihuahua Cabana and Mastiff Meadow.
The Watering Bowl will feature an American bistro menu that includes appetizers, salads, pizzas, wings, sloppers, desserts, cheese and chocolate platters. There will be many gluten-free and vegetarian options, and since there's no fryer, some items will be baked. While Henry wouldn't necessarily call the place a sports bar, it will be outfitted with a some big-screen TVs as well as a twenty-foot manual roll-down projection screen.
Henry and company are trying to partner up with every dog rescue in Denver in order to host events for them. "If you see a dog with a bow around its collar, that dog is a foster dog and available for adoption," he notes, "so you're not going to the pet store events where they're in a cage or something. They're out there running around and playing, and you can actually feel them and pet them or play ball rather than, 'Here's a dog in a cage.'"
On Wednesday, October 29, the Watering Bowl is throwing a Dogoween party with a costume contest from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $20.
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