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Updated: June 28, 2024 @ 12:38 pm
Ruthy Emory owns Ruthy’s Art Bar in downtown Gilmer.
Ruthie’s Art Bar is located in downtown Gilmer. (Submitted photo)
The Sandlot Doggy Inn near East Mountain. (Submitted photo)
The Smeltzer family opened The Sandlot Doggy Inn. Pictured left to right are Bill, Meredith and Conner Smeltzer and Gallo, Loosy and Athena. (Lindsey Steele Photography)
Kennels at The Sandlot Doggy Inn. (Submitted photo)
Dogs staying at The Sandlot Doggy Inn have access to a couple of old couches they get to lounge on. (Submitted photo)
Jo Lee Ferguson wishes she kept her maiden name – Hammer – because it was perfect for a reporter. She’s a local girl who loves writing about her hometown. She and LNJ Managing Editor Randy Ferguson have two children and a crazy husky.
Ruthy Emory owns Ruthy’s Art Bar in downtown Gilmer.
Ruthie’s Art Bar is located in downtown Gilmer. (Submitted photo)
The Sandlot Doggy Inn near East Mountain. (Submitted photo)
The Smeltzer family opened The Sandlot Doggy Inn. Pictured left to right are Bill, Meredith and Conner Smeltzer and Gallo, Loosy and Athena. (Lindsey Steele Photography)
Kennels at The Sandlot Doggy Inn. (Submitted photo)
Dogs staying at The Sandlot Doggy Inn have access to a couple of old couches they get to lounge on. (Submitted photo)
Ruthy Emory’s downtown Gilmer business is a family friendly place where people can create art, get a drink and food and hang out with friends and family.
Emory had operated Paint The Square at 102 Buffalo St. since 2020, where she offered guiding painting sessions and parties. She recently rebranded the business, added a full bar, with nonalcoholic drinks available, and established regular hours when people can paint or relax in the bar. She also still offers parties and rentals for events.
She’s renamed the business Ruthy’s Art Bar.
“I felt like I needed to put my name on it and rebrand and revamp,” she said.
The former BYOB business now has a full bar during its regular operating hours of 7-10 p.m. Thursday and 6-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Parties also can be scheduled when the business isn’t open for its regular hours.
Thursdays are “painting-n-pajamas” day, when people may choose to wear there pajamas to Ruthy’s Art Bar.
“It’s just fun. People like to get out and be comfortable,” she said.
And she said “arting is optional” on the nights Ruthy’s Art Bar is open for regular hours.
“I have a lot of people who come in just to hang out,” she said, including young parents with children. She offers a room where they can play.
“It’s just diverse,” and a calm atmosphere where customers can get a drink, with “mocktails” available since it’s a family friendly environment.
Emory also now serves a small menu of food, including hot dogs and chili dogs, Frito pie and popcorn. She’s also planning to offer what she’s calling a “palette,” which will be a kind of charcuterie tray. Pizza by the slice is available from a local restaurant across the street.
Meredith and Bill Smeltzer have opened The Sandlot Doggy Inn at 2422 Flamingo Road in East Mountain.
The couple noticed a need for dog boarding services and had been working toward opening for some time.
“We said. ‘It’s summertime, let’s pull the trigger,’” Meredith Smeltzer said.
They have a 1,500-square-foot, heated and cooled boarding facility where the dogs’ kennels are located. It has enough space, too, for the dogs to run and play inside when it’s too hot to be outside.
An 8-foot chain link fence surrounds the 9,000-square-foot outdoor play yard.
“We’re out there with the dogs whenever they’re out there,” Smeltzer said. “We’re watching them and making sure they’re not trying to escape or anything like that.”
Drop-off and pick-up times are arranged with the dog owners. Boarding for dogs that weigh less than 75 pounds is $30 a night and $45 a night for larger dogs. Pickup is before 7 p.m. each day.
Dogs also must be up to date on their shots, including having the Bordatella — kennel cough — shot within six months and at least five days before boarding.”
It has been busy,” following The Sandlot Doggy Inn’s opening on May 20, Smeltzer said. “We’ve got so many weeks that are already full.”
Large dogs are driving activity, with Smeltzer saying they ordered more large kennels as a result.
For information, call (903) 220-3998, email Sandlotdoggyinn@gmail.com or visit The Sandlot Doggy Inn Facebook page at tinyurl.com/34nfd7zv .
— Business Beat appears Wednesday. If you have items for the column, email to newstip@newsjournal.com; mail to Business Section, Longview News-Journal, P.O. box 1792, Longview, TX 75606; or call (903) 237-7744.
Jo Lee Ferguson wishes she kept her maiden name – Hammer – because it was perfect for a reporter. She’s a local girl who loves writing about her hometown. She and LNJ Managing Editor Randy Ferguson have two children and a crazy husky.
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