Why did Bar K close? Members, employees detail KC bar’s ‘utterly devastating’ end
Popular Kansas City dog bar of more than seven years Bar K closed overnight Tuesday, saying increased financial pressure and a myriad of other reasons led to its demise.
For some employees and members, it was an unexpected loss that has left them scrambling for a job or disputing hefty membership fees. But others say the writing had been on the wall for months.
Doe DeBruce, a member since the opening of the 2-acre Berkley Park location, said she and several others noticed a decline in the last year of Bar K’s life.
For one, there were increasingly fewer events for members. Bands stopped playing, and the food and beverage menu started to shrink.
The final straw for many Bar K members came several months ago, when membership prices jumped dramatically. DeBruce is not sure exactly how much — her price stayed lower because she was an original member — but her fellow pet owners were dismayed by the change.
“A lot of people, when they increased the membership, decided to leave, which really hurt the business,” DeBruce said.
Another longtime member, Makenzie Brooks, said drink prices also jumped. A $4 can of beer, for example, became $7.
“That’s insane pricing margins,” she said. “That’s not doable.”
The most recent prices on Bar K’s website include a $500 annual membership fee for unlimited visits to the park, or a $50 monthly membership.
In a recent email sent to members, Bar K explained that there would be no membership refunds, saying they “do not have the resources” but are working with local businesses to create benefits packages.
“They’re recommending people go through their credit cards to dispute it,” DeBruce said. “I have a lot of people I’m friends with who are members, and they’re not happy.”
Co-founders Leib Dodell and Dave Hensley began Bar K in a small space in the West Bottoms around 2017. Its massive property at 501 Berkley Parkway opened in 2018.
DeBruce, who socialized some with the owners, thinks things started to sour as Bar K tried to expand outside of KC — first with St. Louis in 2021, then with Oklahoma City in early 2023.
“They did so well in Kansas City,” DeBruce said. “Then they bought Oklahoma City and St. Louis, and we thought, ‘They’re spreading themselves too thin.’”
In August 2023, Arizona-based Real Estate firm Diversified Partners announced its plans to acquire Bar K and make it a nationwide chain with 100 locations, moving its headquarters to Scottsdale.
Later that year, the Business Journal reported that the deal had fallen through. Bar K retained its three locations but did not open any others.
Last year, developer Green Street sued Bar K, alleging that its St. Louis location owed nearly $300,000 in unpaid rent, according to records filed in St. Louis Circuit Court.
Green Street voluntarily dismissed the case a month later.
In a statement on Bar K’s website, the company said there “isn’t one single cause” that created the company’s downfall. Some of the reasons listed: inflationary costs and expenses, the labor market and increased consumer spending.
The Kansas City location in particular suffered from the construction along the Riverfront, the company alleged. Earlier this month, it temporarily closed for three days as the street was blocked off for construction. It reopened business as normal after.
In a personal statement sent to The Star, co-founder Dodell called the closure “utterly devastating.”
“I put literally everything I had into the business – emotionally, financially, and in every other way,” the statement reads in part. “I worked on and in the business, full-time, every day, 7 days a week. I wanted it to succeed – and believed it would succeed – as much as I have ever wanted anything.”
In his statement, Dodell said that a new leadership team took over the business in May 2024. When asked who the leadership team was, Dodell declined to speak further.
“While I was motivated at all times by a truly genuine, passionate belief in the shared experience we were striving to create, this does not diminish my sense of accountability for this terribly disappointing result,” his statement further reads.
Dodell said he’s “sad to have disappointed” members, other customers, employees, investors and business partners.
As for the employees, that’s another sad story, said Victoria Darity.
She and her colleagues woke up Tuesday to an email informing them they no longer had a job. They are still waiting on their final paycheck as of Wednesday, she said, and their insurance will expire after Thursday.
Darity, a single mother, is angry that upper management did not give employees more notice.
“I have a 5-year-old daughter who depends on me,” she said. “That was my only income.”
She echoed issues of construction in the area, the heat and increased membership costs. She also saw issues of high turnover and employees’ hours being cut.
There aren’t any other dog bars in the metro. Brooks said she’ll be taking her wiener dog to CityDogs — a downtown dog park, doggy day care and boarding center. She hopes someone else will take on the Riverfront property.
“People that live in the city need somewhere to run their dogs,” she said.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 4:24 PM.