Bars dealt different fates in dogged pursuit.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: BUSINESS AS USUAL

THE WATERING BOWL ON LEETSDALE DRIVE IN Southeast Denver is a place where dogs are free to romp outside on a 9,000-square-foot turf play area while their owners sip beer and eat pizza or wings.

Plenty of bars in Denver allow leashed dogs on their patios. but brothers Justin and Jerad Henry envisioned something grander when they opened the Watering Bowl in November 2013 on a property that includes a large A-frame building previously used for auctioning antiques.

They aptly dubbed the place--the outside, anyway--"Your Best Friend's Bar."

Denver regularly ranks high for both dog--friendliness and singles. Some theorize--at least I do--that these two qualities go hand-in-hand, that single people tend to own dogs for companionship and as aids to help them meet other singles.

As if to support this point. one Friday evening in early February that I stopped by the Watering Bowl to check out the outdoor dog area. a speed-dating event was unfolding inside the A-frame. About 30 singles engaged in a sort of musical chairs. getting to know each other in five-minute intervals before reshuffling into new pairings.

Most of the brothers' early investment went toward the 5,000- square-foot inside where dogs aren't allowed, including a massive 19-foot TV on one wall and an even more massive 26-footer on another.

By comparison. development of the outside has been piecemeal. The artificial turf for the dog park was once an actual football field and was bought used from Academy Sports Turf in Englewood. Two TVs were later added outside, including one in a heated, covered area where some patrons and their dogs gathered to watch the Super Bowl.

This is the first foray into the bar business for both brothers. Justin, 37, describes himself as coming from "corporate America--finance, accounting, credit, legal. Hospitality is something I've always wanted to do. He says. Jerad, 40, has a background in marketing.

"We've been open now 14-15 months," Justin told me. "We've had zero problems. I know probably 60 percent of our regulars on a first-name basis. It's a small, dysfunctional family. We love our customers and they like us.

"Most properties don't lend themselves to something like this," he added.

That's an important point, because a...