A new pet salon has come to downtown Royal Oak, bringing with it a mod space that's a far cry from Lassie's groomer.
Bingo Pet Salon, which opened last month on Fourth Street just off Main, brought with it a business plan to serve Royal Oak's downtown dwellers and commuters.
"That's kind of the nice thing about it... being able to come downtown, drop off your dog, see a movie, shop, run an errand," says Kate Burton, Bingo's general manager.
The other part of the business vision was to design an eye-catching spot that fit into downtown. The interior of the salon has an industrial lofty feel with high ceilings and lots of glass. At the front of the salon, a glass room that looks out on Fourth Street holds just coifed small dogs.
"People walking by can see them. They're our little models," Burton says. "It's definitely a more modern feel overall," she says. "Being downtown that's what we were going for."
Bingo, which is owned by Royal Oak resident Jon Beasley, opened last month and had a grand opening event with specialty dog treats and other pet goodies last week.
"This is his first time in this business," she says, "but he's been thinking about doing it for sometime, especially living downtown, knowing how many people hang out downtown with their dogs. This is a dog-friendly city in general."
Bingo Pet Salon is also connecting with the community by featuring works of local artists on its walls. Currently photographer Marco Mancinelli's pics of people and their pets are on display. And the salon is working with the Royal Oak animal shelter and New Beginnings, an animal rescue group, to foster and adopt homeless animals.
Already, she says, "more and more people are discovering us. We're getting busier and busier."
Source: Kate Burton, general manager, Bingo Pet Salon
Writer: Kim North Shine
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.