Barking Dog Deal May Come Untethered

Even after receiving the blessing of both the city and the county liquor board, the Barking Dog may be a no-go in College Park.  

The Bethesda-based bar and restaurant was slated to open up a second location in the former Thirsty Turtle building by the beginning of May. However, negotiations with the building's landlord have broken down, and the Diamondback reports that another business may wind up inhabiting the space. 

Barking Dog owner John McManus told Patch that the restaurant should have been open two months ago.

"It's out of my hands," he said. "I'm waiting for a lease that’s manageable. Now I'm sitting around wasting time and money."

McManus attributes the hold-up to unresolved issues between the previous tenant and the landlord, and mistrust that continues to cloud their relationship.

Indeed, the Thirsty Turtle did not meet a peaceful end, as the bar was after being cited repeatedly for serving underage patrons, which in one instance led to a . 

Additionally, the landlord last month against Thirsty Turtle owner Alan Wanuck for allegedly owing $261,877 in unpaid rent and late fees.

As far as McManus is concerned, no one seems interested in moving the process along. He said that despite everyone involved having the same goal, namely, getting the Thirsty Turtle out and the Barking Dog in, there's been a lot of foot-dragging when it comes to taking action.  

"I didn’t go through all this time and effort for nothing," he said. "There’s no sense of urgency. Quite frankly, that’s disturbing." 

Ultimately, if it's doable, it's doable, he said.

And if not?

"There's always another street car coming down the block."