Barks & Rec

What Barks & Rec does

Barks & Rec is a privately held, independent pet care services operator serving dog owners in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The company runs two operational facilities — North Loop in Minneapolis (400 Lakeside Avenue) and Lakeville (24315 Dodd Boulevard) — with a third Hastings location listed on the website under "TBD" status and not yet operational. Services span three core lines: dog daycare, overnight boarding, and grooming, supported by 91 kennels and suites, four indoor rubber-floored play areas, three outdoor artificial-turf play areas, and a quiet room at the flagship North Loop site.

The underlying technology stack is thin: operations run on the Gingr third-party platform for customer registration, reservation management, vaccination tracking, and payment processing, with separate Gingr portals for each location and phone-based grooming scheduling handled by an individual employee (Leigh). Barks & Rec has no proprietary software, no AI/ML capabilities, and no disclosed APIs. The company's physical infrastructure is the primary differentiator, including a custom HVAC system with 24/7 monitoring and fresh air exchange, glass-front suites, and roughly one acre of urban play space.

Revenue is generated transactionally across daycare, boarding, and grooming with unit pricing for à la carte services ($15 nail trims, $18 anal gland expressions) and tiered grooming packages. Recurring revenue streams were introduced via prepaid Daycare Packages (monthly) and the new Pup Tune Up Membership (effective June 1, 2025), which bundles bath, nail trim, ear cleaning, haircut, and anal gland expression into a monthly subscription. Marketing is conducted primarily through Instagram (@barks_and_rec.mpls) and Facebook, driving top-of-funnel awareness, while bookings convert through the Gingr self-serve platform. The company has no disclosed funding, no parent entity, and no enterprise customers — it is a localized consumer services business.

Name

Barks & Rec

Legal name

Barks & Rec

Website

https://barksnrec.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Barks & Rec is a privately held dog daycare, boarding, and grooming operator with two Minneapolis-St. Paul metro facilities (North Loop and Lakeville) and a third Hastings location in development. It serves local pet parents via the Gingr booking platform and active social media marketing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Care Services

NAICS

Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (812910)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cage-Free / Open-Play Dog Daycare (HSANAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Overnight Kennel Boarding (Dogs) (HSANADAA), Pet Services (Grooming, Training, Daycare) (CRALAIAJ)

Keywords

• Dog daycare services
• Pet boarding
• Dog grooming
• Pet care facility
• Overnight pet boarding

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Dog Daycare: Daycare services for dogs with structured play, socialization, and supervision. Drop-off and pick-up based on location-specific hours.
2. Boarding: Overnight and extended stay boarding services with kennels and suites available in various sizes. Includes pick-up and drop-off within specified hours.
3. Grooming Services: Full grooming haircuts including bath, nail trim, ear cleaning, haircut/trim, and anal gland expression. Also includes standalone nail trims ($15) and anal gland expressions ($18).
4. Daycare Packages: Prepaid daycare packages available for purchase. Cannot be shared among families; must be used by dogs registered under the same owner profile.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Barks & Rec provides dog daycare (supervised socialization and play), overnight boarding in kennels and suites of various sizes including glass-front suites, and grooming services (full haircuts, nail trims, ear cleaning, anal gland expression) across two Minneapolis-metro facilities. Daycare packages and a recurring Pup Tune Up grooming membership are also offered, with all bookings managed through the Gingr platform.

Product overview

Barks & Rec is a dog daycare, boarding, and grooming facility offering multiple service tiers. The core offerings include Dog Daycare for daily supervision and socialization, Dog Boarding for overnight stays with various kennel and suite options, and Grooming Services providing baths, haircuts, nail trims, and anal gland expressions. The Pup Tune Up Membership is an add-on program that bundles grooming services together. Daycare Packages offer prepaid options for regular clients. All services are managed through the Gingr booking platform, with separate portals for each location.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dog Daycare Daycare service providing a safe, fun, and stimulating environment for dogs with interaction and socialization with other friendly dogs; supervised by staff with multiple indoor and outdoor play areas. Drop-off and pick-up within location-specific hours.
• Dog Boarding Overnight and extended-stay boarding service offering 91 kennels and suites in various sizes, including glass-front suites, with access to indoor and outdoor play areas. Pick-up and drop-off within specified hours.
• Grooming Services Full-service grooming including bath, nail trim, ear cleaning, haircut/trim, and anal gland expression. Standalone nail trims and anal gland expressions offered without an appointment during specific hours; North Loop grooming appointments available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; Lakeville offers Tuesday grooming appointments.
• Pup Tune Up Membership Monthly recurring grooming membership program replacing the previous Clean Club membership effective June 1, 2025. Bundles bath, nail trim, ear cleaning, haircut/trim, and anal gland expression (if needed) in a single session; must be used within the month purchased, and all services completed on the same day.
• Daycare Packages Prepaid daycare packages available for purchase at the Lakeville location; must be used in the month purchased and limited to dogs registered under the same owner profile — non-transferable across families.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GingrcoreTechnology or IntegrationGingr is the operational technology platform used for customer registration, booking, and reservation management. Barks & Rec directs all customers to register and book via Gingr, with separate portals for each location. The platform handles customer profiles, vaccination records, and payment processing for daycare and boarding services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wag Hotels: Premium urban pet hotel with daycare, boarding, grooming, and spa services. Comparable as a high-end urban pet care operator emphasizing facility quality, though operates in select metro markets rather than franchising.
• Dogtopia: Premium dog daycare franchise with boarding and spa services at most locations. Comparable as a multi-unit operator offering structured open-play daycare plus grooming add-ons, competing for the same urban pet-owner segment.
• K9 Resorts: Luxury dog daycare, boarding, and spa franchise. Comparable to Barks & Rec as a premium-tier urban operator combining cage-free play, overnight suites, and grooming in a multi-site format.
• Camp Bow Wow: National franchise of dog daycare, boarding, and grooming camps. Most directly comparable to Barks & Rec given overlapping service mix (daycare, boarding, grooming) and franchise-driven multi-site expansion model.
• Best Friends Pet Hotel: National chain of pet hotels offering dog daycare, boarding, grooming, and training. Comparable as a multi-site pet care operator with overlapping service lines and a similar premium urban-store positioning.
• Hounds Town USA: Dog daycare, boarding, and grooming franchise with an open-play, socialization-focused model. Comparable in service mix and target customer (urban/suburban pet owners), though typically more value-tier than Barks & Rec.
• The Dog Stop: Franchise offering dog daycare, boarding, grooming, and retail. Comparable as a multi-site pet care operator with a similar service bundling approach and urban-suburban footprint.

Broad incumbents

• PetSmart (PetsHotel & Doggie Day Camp): Largest North American pet specialty retailer with co-located PetsHotel boarding and Doggie Day Camp daycare services. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering overlapping daycare/boarding services, but as part of a much larger retail and services portfolio.
• Petco (Petco Grooming & Pet Care Services): Major pet specialty retailer with in-store grooming salons and growing pet care services. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating overlapping grooming services and daycare/boarding pilots in select markets.

Others

• Gingr: Pet care booking, customer management, and payment platform used across the pet daycare, boarding, and grooming industry. Listed as an enabler/ecosystem partner since Barks & Rec uses Gingr as its operational technology backbone rather than as a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Barks-Rec/61566740197969
• Instagraminstagram.com/barks_and_rec.mpls
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barks-and-rec-mpls

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Barks & Rec