First indoor dog park, bar coming to N. Snelling

What is billed as St. Paul’s first indoor dog park plus bar could open this fall, with approval from the St. Paul City Council Aug. 13, 2025.
Saint Bark at 1145 N. Snelling Ave. needed to have the nearby Energy Park commercial development district expanded to include its facility so that beer and hard seltzer could be served there. That required a review and recommendation from the St. Paul Planning Commission this summer, as well as a public hearing in the Fourth Ward and a council vote.
Commercial development districts were established in the 1990s as a means to promote hospitality or entertainment districts when a number of businesses could hold on-sale liquor licenses. It was a way to get around the longtime per-ward liquor license limits.
But few of the districts have materialized. One such district was supposed to be centered on the former Amtrak station on Transfer Road. Another was to be near Interstate 94 and Hamline Avenue. A third was to be at University Avenue and Dale Street.
At one point district designation was used to issue on-sale liquor licenses outside of the ward license limits, including only a single address. That need has diminished as it is now easier for restaurants to get on-sale liquor licenses.
Saint Bark needs the expansion because it would be a bar with food trucks and not a restaurant. The business needs what is called a “non-restaurant on-sale intoxicating liquor license.”
The Energy Park district boundaries have long been Lexington Parkway to the east, railroad tracks to the north and south, and Snelling Avenue on the west. The expansion changes the boundaries to an additional area bounded by railroad tracks on the south, a line running on the west side of 1645 Energy Park Drive, 1085 Snelling Ave. N., and Winston Street on the West, Breda Ave. on the north, and Snelling Ave on the east extending to the northern set of railroad tracks.
One requirement in expanding a commercial development district is that a business owner meet a petition requirement for approval from two-third of the property owners in the district. Saint Bark ownership asked the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) if the petition requirements could be waived, citing the number of properties needed. That was agreed to by city staff and eventually the city council.
The council heard from one resident in opposition, who lives near the planned business. She is concerned about increased noise and traffic along her home’s alley and in her neighborhood, as well as the possibility of unleased dogs outside.
Saint Bark bills itself as the city’s first indoor dog park and bar, with a climate-controlled facility, with off-leash supervised play, big screen televisions and food trucks.
More at www.saintbarkmn.com.