Skiptown

Skiptown runs dog boarding, daycare, and grooming out of 222 Rampart St. in Charlotte, NC, alongside an off-leash dog bar and park built for people as much as dogs. The setup is unusual for a boarding facility: dogs run on artificial turf while their owners sit at a bar serving craft cocktails, beer, and coffee. Staff, called Skippers, supervise the play areas.

Services and amenities

• Overnight dog boarding
• Daycare with off-leash group play
• Grooming
• Dog bar and park with artificial turf
• Curbside dropoff and pickup

What makes it different

Plenty of kennels ask owners to hand off at a front desk and wait for a phone call. Skiptown leans on its own app instead. Owners set up a pet profile, book stays, and get daily photo updates while their dog is there. Curbside dropoff handles the morning rush, so nobody has to park and walk a leashed dog through a lobby.

The bar and park side gives the place a social streak that most boarding kennels don't have. Skiptown schedules breed meet-ups and hosts private events, so the same turf that wears out a boarding guest during the day becomes a neighborhood hangout at night. Owners who want to see the space before booking an overnight stay can walk in with their dog and watch how the staff manage a group.

Practical details

Skiptown is open seven days a week, with a midday start Monday through Friday and late closes on Friday and Saturday. Weekend hours begin at 11:00 AM. Booking is done online, and every dog needs current vaccinations before its first visit. Questions go to (704) 343-6658 or hello@skiptown.io, and the full service list lives at skiptown.io.