If you search for The Bark Shoppe on St. Nicholas Avenue, you mostly get booking widgets and directory listings, and some of them disagree with each other. We put this page together to fix that. It sets out what can be verified about the business, flags what can’t, and covers the history of the Harlem avenue the shop sits on.
One note on method. This is a small neighborhood business, not a century-old institution, so we have not made up a founding legend or a list of famous customers. Facts about the shop are kept apart from facts about the street, and each one is labeled.
The Bark Shoppe Saint Nicholas Avenue New York NY at a Glance
| Detail | What we found | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 100 St. Nicholas Ave, New York, NY 10026 (Central Harlem) | Verified across multiple listings |
| Founder | Melissa Mitchner | Verified (business directory profile) |
| Ownership | Listed among Black-owned dog businesses | Verified (Ollie roundup) |
| Core services | Grooming, daycare, boarding, dog walking, retail products | Verified across multiple listings |
| Hours | One booking listing says 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily | Unconfirmed. Check with the shop |
| Opening year | Not published in any source we reviewed | Unconfirmed |
| Official site | thebarkshoppe.com | Use as the primary source |
One warning before you book. A third-party booking page for the shop lists a “hair coloring” service and staff names that appear in no other source. That kind of mismatch usually comes from a template that was auto-filled or never updated. Treat any one aggregator listing as a lead, not a fact.
Origins and Historical Timeline
What is documented about the shop
Melissa Mitchner founded The Bark Shoppe. In public profiles, its mission is to strengthen the relationship between pets and their owners. That is a care-first pitch rather than a volume-grooming one. The shop offers a full range of services instead of just baths and trims, and that range fits the pitch: daycare, boarding and walking are what you build when you want to see the same dogs every week.
We could not verify an opening date. If you need it for research, a citation or a feature story, try these three sources in order:
- New York State business entity records. The Department of State’s corporation search shows when an entity was formed. Formation can come before the storefront opened.
- The owner directly. This is the fastest and most reliable source for a small business.
- Local press and community boards. Harlem outlets and Community Board 10 minutes sometimes record new storefronts on the avenue.
A timeline of the avenue, not the shop
The street has a history you can document. Here is the short version:
- Before the grid. St. Nicholas Avenue runs diagonally because its route predates Manhattan’s 1811 street grid. Through much of Harlem it roughly follows the old Harlem Lane, a country road that was later famous for carriage and trotting-horse races.
- The name. The avenue is named for St. Nicholas, the patron saint of New Amsterdam. The name is a nod to the city’s Dutch origins.
- Early 1900s. Rowhouses and apartment buildings filled the corridor as the subway pushed north. Archival photographs at the Museum of the City of New York, including views at St. Nicholas Avenue and 131st Street, show the streetscape from this period.
- 1920s–1940s. Harlem became the capital of Black America. On West 118th Street, just off St. Nicholas, Minton’s Playhouse opened in 1938 and became one of the places where bebop took shape.
- Late 20th century to today. The lower avenue, near West 116th Street, became the center of the West African community known as Little Senegal. Around it, a new layer of small, locally owned service businesses grew up, and The Bark Shoppe is one of them.
Notable People and Events
Melissa Mitchner, founder
Mitchner is the only person we can firmly tie to the business. Directory profiles credit her as founder. Beyond that, we found no reliable public biography, and we won’t fill the gap with guesses. If she is interviewed or profiled in print later, this section will be updated.
Recognition as a Black-owned business
The shop appears in Ollie’s roundup of Black-owned dog businesses, which describes it as a Harlem facility offering grooming, products, walking and daycare. It’s a short mention. Even so, lists like that one send customers to small shops that don’t have a national marketing budget.
The neighbors with history
The shop’s own story is still short, but the area around it is full of history. Minton’s is a few minutes’ walk away. So is the stretch of 116th Street where Harlem’s West African restaurants and tailors cluster. For more on the music history around here, see our piece on Swing Street and Harlem’s 133rd Street jazz economy.
Role in Harlem History
St. Nicholas Avenue as a corridor of Black life
Walk north from the shop and the avenue takes you through some of Harlem’s best-known blocks. It runs past St. Nicholas Park, which since 2008 has been home to Alexander Hamilton’s relocated house, Hamilton Grange. It then climbs toward Hamilton Heights and Sugar Hill, where Black professionals, artists and activists lived in the mid-20th century. The avenue links the commercial center of Harlem to its most celebrated residential district.
That history matters for a business profile because it explains who the neighbors are. They are long-time residents, many of them families that have been here for generations, plus newer arrivals. Both groups expect local businesses to be part of the community, not just to sell to it.
Where a pet-care shop fits
Harlem has a long history of entrepreneurs who started out serving their neighbors and ended up anchoring a block. Our profile of Pigfoot Mary, Harlem’s street-food entrepreneur turned landlord is one early example. A modern pet-care shop fits that pattern in a small way. As more Harlem households have dogs, residents need nearby grooming and daycare. Without it, they have to travel downtown or to the Upper West Side for it.
From an operator’s point of view, the full mix of services is the smart part of the model. Grooming alone is seasonal and depends heavily on staff. Daycare and walking bring repeat weekly revenue, and boarding fills holiday gaps when grooming slows down. A neighborhood shop that offers all four is planning to last.
For more on how Harlem’s streets and landmarks changed, see our guide to 145th and Lenox: history and what’s there today and our history of Harlem murals.
What Remains Today: Visiting The Bark Shoppe on St. Nicholas Avenue
Services you can expect
- Grooming: breed-specific cuts, baths, nail trims and de-shedding treatments
- Daycare: supervised daytime care, useful if you work long office hours
- Boarding: overnight stays
- Dog walking: neighborhood walks
- Retail: pet products sold in the shop
Getting there
The address is on the lower end of St. Nicholas Avenue in ZIP 10026, near West 116th Street. The B and C trains stop at 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, a short walk away. The 2 and 3 stop at 116th Street and Lenox Avenue, a little farther east. Check the exact cross street on a map before you go, because the avenue’s diagonal route throws off grid-based guesses.
What it typically costs in Manhattan
The Bark Shoppe does not publish a price list we could verify. As a rough guide, these are typical Manhattan prices, not this shop’s prices. A full groom usually runs $80–$120 for a small dog and $120–$200 or more for a large or double-coated breed. Daycare is often $40–$60 a day, and boarding is commonly $70–$120 a night. Matting, temperament and coat condition can each add to a grooming bill.
Five questions to ask before you book
- What are your current hours, and do they differ for grooming and daycare?
- Which vaccinations do you require? Most facilities ask for rabies, DHPP and Bordetella.
- How are dogs grouped in daycare, by size or by temperament?
- Is there a matting or de-matting surcharge?
- What is your cancellation policy for boarding during holidays?
Ask by phone or through the official website, not a third-party booking page. Given how much the listings disagree, that’s the only way to get answers you can rely on. And if you’re making a morning of it in the neighborhood, our guide to the best coffee shops in Harlem has options within walking distance.
FAQs
Where is The Bark Shoppe in Harlem located?
The Bark Shoppe is at 100 St. Nicholas Avenue, New York, NY 10026, on the lower end of the avenue in Central Harlem near West 116th Street. The closest subway is the B/C at 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. The 2/3 at 116th Street and Lenox Avenue is a little farther east.
Who owns The Bark Shoppe in NYC?
Business directory profiles credit Melissa Mitchner as the founder. The shop describes its mission as strengthening the relationship between pets and their owners.
Is The Bark Shoppe Black-owned?
Yes. Ollie’s roundup of Black-owned dog businesses lists The Bark Shoppe and describes it as a Harlem facility offering grooming, products, walking and daycare.
Does The Bark Shoppe offer dog boarding and daycare?
Yes. Listings consistently show grooming, daycare, boarding, dog walking and retail products. Before you book, confirm vaccination requirements, how dogs are grouped in daycare, and holiday boarding policies directly with the shop.
What are The Bark Shoppe’s hours?
One third-party booking listing says 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, but that listing also contains details that don’t match other sources. Treat the hours as unconfirmed and check them on the official website or by phone before you visit.
What is St. Nicholas Avenue known for in Harlem?
St. Nicholas Avenue runs diagonally because it predates Manhattan’s 1811 grid, roughly following the old Harlem Lane. It passes near Minton’s Playhouse and Little Senegal, runs past St. Nicholas Park and Hamilton Grange, and climbs into Hamilton Heights and Sugar Hill, one of Harlem’s most historic residential districts.
