DENVER — Dog Savvy, a longtime business in Larmer Square, is at risk of closing due to a decline in sales following the pandemic. The store is now turning to the community for help.
"The future of Dog Savvy right now is the most uncertain it's been in our entire duration of operation," said Robb Horen, co-owner of Dog Savvy. "Without the continued support of our community through this difficult time, we face the real possibility of having to cease operations on Larimer Square."
Dog Savvy, which opened in October 2006, provides grooming services as well as a wide variety of pet supplies and accessories. Horen said Larimer Square's heavy foot traffic in the pre-pandemic days gave them a boost at the beginning of their business.
"When we first opened it up, it was on the upswing of the critical mass coming into downtown, with the retail and restaurants really starting to thrive," explained Horen. "And we rode out that wave where we kind of went through a restaurant renaissance. There was lots of new restaurants and businesses opening up in the downtown city."
Though the business survived the pandemic, the aftermath continues to be felt. Horen said people have not come back to downtown Denver, forcing neighboring businesses to leave.
"Since then, it's been very difficult to see the decline in foot traffic and just activity in downtown in general, but in particular on our block, which was such an iconic place to gather and, you know, have a good restaurant or do some good shopping. It’s just fewer options and far, far, far less people," Horen said.
According to the Downtown Denver Partnership's November update, the yearly average of total daily downtown users has not met pre-pandemic numbers but does show growth over the past couple of years.
The Downtown Denver Partnership said there are several openings coming up in Larimer Square, including NADC Burger on Dec. 13, Sushi by Scratch on Dec. 31 and the soft launch of Huntingtin Bank in late December.
Horen is optimistic that with new businesses filling the restaurant and retail block, there will be more people and sales to keep the storefront afloat. To keep the business afloat right now, he hopes the community will support their fundraising efforts.
"So it's a very humbling but very important ask that we are reaching out to our community to see if we can get a bridge from this downturn on the block to what we know will be a thriving and prosperous future in the very near term," Horen said.
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