NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It's the kind of establishment where it's not unusual for a dog to belly up to the bar. Golden retrievers Dolly and Edley are regulars, not surprising since their pet parents do own the place after all.

"We wished that there was a place like this somewhere in Nashville, and there wasn't, so we just decided to go ahead and open one ourselves," said Rebecca Gauthier, co-owner of Urban Dog Bar.

"It's been a lot of fun just meeting a lot of people in the neighborhood that we haven't met before. It just really feels like a sense of community has been building over the last seven months," co-owner Austin Gauthier added.

Rebecca and Austin opened Urban Dog Bar last October in their own community, The Nations.

"We got very lucky finding a spot in The Nations. But we chose The Nations just because there were so many dogs, so many people," Rebecca said.

"A lot of new businesses, restaurants coming into the neighborhood, and it just feels like it's growing," Austin said.

"Our friends often joke that, 'are y'all going to leave the neighborhood this weekend?' Because you don't usually have to. We have everything we need here: coffee shops, wine shops, butcher," Molly Haynes said. "We really have a little bit of everything and a little bit for everyone."

Haynes and her husband have seen The Nations' evolution since they moved there seven years ago. She's on the board of the Nations Neighborhood Association and co-chairs the beautification committee.

"All of us prioritize walkability and being able to come to our local businesses, but part of that growth has meant that we've lost a lot of the trees," Haynes said. "One of our priorities with the beautification committee is to replace a lot of the trees that we've lost in some of the new development."

They partnered with the Nashville Tree Foundation and Root Nashville to plant more than 120 new trees, mostly along 51st Avenue.

"The neighbors all came and brought shovels, and we got to work and put them in the ground together," Haynes said. "They just had their first spring."

The beautification committee is also working on cleaning up and repaving a pathway nicknamed "The Secret Sidewalk" that will provide pedestrian access to Charlotte Avenue.

"Everybody's biggest concern is always sidewalks, so how do you tackle that beast and really work with the city to make sure that our roads are safe and accessible and continue to be walkable?" Haynes pondered.

The Gauthiers said it was building off of that walkability that inspired them to create Urban Dog Bar as a neighborhood gathering place.

"We would take our dogs on walks every day, and we would pass the same people. We would always say hi, but we never really had a chance to get to know people. So everybody coming here, it's like that community is actually forming now," Rebecca said.

They hope to expand that community with another location in Nashville.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/on-tour-middle-tn/the-nations/