Dog park-restaurant Woof Play Eat closes in Portland
Maine’s first “dog‑restaurant” shutters its doors in North Deering
The 15,000‑square‑foot Woof Play Eat, a joint indoor‑outdoor dog park and 85‑seat restaurant on Northport Drive, announced on Thursday that it will close permanently. The announcement came after a July shutdown that had been described by the owners as a temporary pause to “evaluate business options.”
Owners Brad and Marissa Sterl, who launched the venue in January, said the venture’s launch “proved far more difficult and costly than anticipated.” In an email released to customers and the community, the Sterls wrote, “We are incredibly proud of what we created, and we continue to believe deeply in the concept.” They added that the process of bringing Woof Play Eat to life had burned through “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in working capital before the doors ever opened.
“We invested additional funds, reduced expenses, adjusted operations, explored lending and crowdfunding options, contacted other dog‑related businesses, and held countless conversations with potential investors,” the email continued. “Despite exhausting every reasonable option, we were unable to secure the serious investment needed to continue operating Woof Play Eat responsibly and give the business the opportunity it deserved.”
The closure follows a series of licensing headaches that the Sterls blame on slow city and state approval processes. Delays in securing the necessary permits, they said, delayed the opening and increased costs for equipment, safety upgrades and insurance. Those added expenses, combined with the high rent for the North Deering location, pushed the business over its budget.
“We could not keep the business afloat under the current conditions,” the Sterls wrote, “and we must close for good.”
Woof Play Eat’s concept was a novelty in Maine: customers could dine inside a well‑equipped restaurant while their dogs played in an indoor‑outdoor park space that offered agility equipment, water stations and shaded areas. The venue also promised dog‑friendly menu items and a pet‑first atmosphere that, according to the Sterls, had a ready customer base in the Portland area.
The closure comes amid a broader trend for “dog‑centric” venues in the state. In June, The Barkery Dog Bar—a similar dog‑park restaurant in South Portland—also shut its doors. That business, which had opened earlier in the year, cited “financial and operational” challenges in its own announcement.
North Deering residents and local dog owners who had frequented Woof Play Eat expressed disappointment at the loss of a unique gathering spot. The Sterls thanked the community for its support over the past months and said they hope to find a new way to bring the dog‑friendly dining experience to Maine in the future.
The building at Northport Drive will now be available for lease. For those who want to reminisce about the few months of wagging tails and shared meals, a photo collection of the venue’s most popular spots is available on the Maine News Now website.
