Bark & Brew — Restaurant in Howard

I have a 10-month-old puppy. We got her in December so it was very hard to socialize her due to the long Northeast Wisconsin winter weather. I started to bring her on the Fox River Trail in spring and because all of the walkers, bikes, in-line skates, runners, strollers, dogs were all new to her, her reaction was to be scared and bark a ton. Most often, dogs on leashes that are restrained will react that way. Especially a 10-month-old puppy where everything is new to her and her breed is miniature schnauzer. Not necessarily a laid-back lab or golden. My husband and I heard about Bark and Brew from our massage therapist who lives in the area, otherwise we would’ve never known about this cool place. We showed up on a Friday expecting to have a very short visit and wound up staying there 3+ hours and had an absolute blast ! Most dog owners are very cool people to start out with, and the fact that she could run and play and socialize with both people and dogs is killing two birds with one stone on the socialization scale. The owner, Tara, who you could tell is living her dream and truly doing something she was passionate about, was amazing and super friendly. Anytime you run into a business owner that has all of these qualities...no question will their business be a success! We were very impressed as to how controlled the situation was due to all of the employees called “dog butlers” there. And there were a pretty good amount of people with their dogs that were there at the time, even with it being Labor Day weekend. We only wish there could be another location closer to us, as we live in Allouez! This was so much fun for us to be able to hang out with cool dog people, have a few drinks and let our puppy play with all the other dogs. Just a really cool vibe and a must do if you are a dog lover!! We definitely will be a regular customer at Bark and Brew. Vicki &...

We went here yesterday for the first time with our 2 doggies, Zoey & Winnie, they had a GREAT time and we did too!! The staff was super super friendly and smiley and we just loved the atmosphere. We are definitely going to be making this a regular hang out. I LOVE the idea of being able to go to a pub, have a drink and to be able to bring our favorite furry family members along with us, it's awesome!! I agree with another reviewer that says she would like to see a DePere location open up, that would be awesome!! But for now the 20-25 minute drive for us is well worth it..... Bark & Brew is an AMAZING place!! *The only one thing I would say as a recommendation to make it even better would be is if they required that all dogs that come be spayed/neutered, because you do have a few "unfixed" male dogs running around trying to mount every single dog, that was kinda annoying. There was one particular male dog, a black poodle, that WOULD NOT stop trying to get on my Winnie the whole time and she was getting pretty annoyed by him, the staff did do their best to try to get this dog to stop but the dog was pretty persistent. And also another male white dog (with a painted purple mohawk on his head) that also was pretty annoying running around trying to mount everyone elses dog. Again, the staff did their best to try to get this dog to play and to focus on something else but he wouldn't, I think at that point it should have been the owners responsibility to take action, but honestly I have no idea who was the owner of that dog either. So, there were a few unresponsible owners there, but that's not the fault of...

I recently visited Barks & Brew for the first time, and while the concept is exciting—a dog-friendly bar with an indoor and outdoor play area—the execution leaves room for improvement. I really appreciate the effort to create more dog-friendly establishments in Wisconsin, which are few and far between. However, my experience there raised some concerns, particularly about safety for smaller dogs.

Within the first 10 minutes of arriving, my dog, who was simply exploring the area, had his paw cut open when someone scooted a metal bar stool directly onto it. This was an upsetting and frustrating experience. While I take ultimate responsibility for keeping my dog out of harm’s way, the layout and design of the bar area seem poorly planned for a dog-friendly environment.

The hard, movable metal chairs on a concrete floor pose a significant risk in a space where dogs are freely roaming. This issue could be easily addressed by switching to bolted-down seating, booths, or even making the bar area standing-room only. As it stands, it feels like a glaring oversight that could (and likely has) caused similar accidents for other dogs. In a dog-friendly bar, every aspect—including the seating—should prioritize the safety and comfort of dogs.

Because of this incident, I don’t see myself returning, and I would caution others with small dogs to be extra vigilant or stick to the outdoor area if they visit. It’s a real shame because the concept is fantastic, but the poor execution left a bad impression. I hope Barks & Brew considers making changes to ensure a safer and more enjoyable environment for both dogs and...