Tony Golden, has been in the dog care business for over 9 years with his wife, Tania, since moving to Manchester in 2008 to support their two son’s football careers.
He has now branched out into ‘Central Bark’ with a daycare area, boarding area, grooming section and cafe, called ‘The Beach Dog Cafe’.
“I said, ‘Let’s bring the beach to Manchester’ because it’s always raining here. We called it Beach Dog Café because I love beaches and I love dogs. Then I said, ‘Now I need a beach dog,’ and I adopted Alfie” explains Golden.
The area is elaborate and a large space was needed to house all the dog-activity, which is why Tony jumped at the opportunity to transform a 14,000 sq. foot building into a dog paradise.
The cafe which opened earlier this year has had an enormous response and support, with interest peaking in the past few weeks, hitting headlines as well as visits from premier league footballers, and cricketers. The buzz even has people traveling up from across the country.
“Dog owners and dog lovers know we now see our dogs as a loving family member — we want to give them the best life possible. It used to be, ‘Put them on a chain’, but that’s changed dramatically now. We are the first ones to take the concept of dog care and a dog café and put it all together.” Tony remarks to The Times.
Speaking about the process of orchestrating hundreds of dogs into Manchester’s Central Bark, Tony says,
“We keep them socialising together because that’s what reality is… they all get along but what we do look at is their personalities, so some older dogs don’t want to play, some of the younger dogs have loads of energy.”
Tony is just one of the many ‘olderpreneurs’, setting up companies in their 50s. As mentioned in Campaign, “They [over 50s] love adventurous travel, sport and being active, and are starting more businesses.”
Many consider this period of our lives as the best time to start a new venture, with savings to invest, an expansive network of connections, expertise and a wealth of experience to draw back on.
To find out more visit Central Bark’s Facebook page.
Featured image credit: Instagram / @CentralBarkMCR
