The Barking Dog

The Barking Dog officially closed last week, a manager at the bar’s Bethesda location confirmed last night.

Company management did not respond to multiple requests for interviews, but the Route 1 bar’s doors have been shut since Tuesday.

The sudden closure frustrated Peter Dunlop, a junior computer science major who planned to host a Students Helping Honduras date auction Saturday at the bar. The group moved the event to Terrapin’s Turf after learning the bar would be closing.

“We scheduled the event only three weeks prior, and they did not make any mention of their closing until four days before the event,” Dunlop said.

The Barking Dog opened its doors Aug. 22, 2011, replacing Thirsty Turtle, which closed in November 2010.

A former Barking Dog employee, who asked that his name be withheld, said he saw a noticeable decline in business over the past few months after management changed hands.

“People liked going there up until the start of this semester, when a lot of stuff started changing,” he said.

Earlier in the semester, management raised certain drink prices during happy hour, the former employee said, and the bar stopped having karaoke and trivia nights.

The changes likely caused the visible drop in attendance, he said. In previous months, lines of customers stretched down the block.

“This semester, they went from having 600, 700, 800 people there to barely having 100 to 150 people,” he said. “If management had listened to the staff and the customers, they would probably still be open.”