What was once Grandma’s House, a brewery adorned with antiques and scented loosely of mothballs, is now HomeDog. Sandwiched along South Broadway’s Antique Row, HomeDog bolsters nary a stuffiness inside with owner Alex Novick filling a major gap in Denver’s dog department.
Novick spent much of his own career traveling and working remotely. First, he began as a sports journalist covering baseball to football, and later as a startup tech bro, building the next alleged big thing. Occasionally, though, he’d glance down at his own pup curled up beside him and wonder why there wasn’t a place they could go, somewhere beyond the nomadic van, to work together.
Upon his Mile High arrival in 2023, Novick yearned for that kind of space. And while Denver is a city where dogs reign supreme, with more rescues than Lululemons, such a place hadn’t yet taken root. It’s also a city full of transplants, desiring their own pack, with Novick being no exception.
So, in July 2025, Novick officially opened HomeDog. The massive structure acts as a dog-friendly third space with a café, co-working area and daycare service, doused by an alarmingly delightful atmosphere. It’s a place that both fulfills the desire for human connection and also satisfies a dog’s need for mental enrichment and stimulation.
Novick recognizes the dog-eat-dog nature of new businesses sprouting up around Denver like wildfire, but his commitment to local partnerships and community outreach remains firmly unleashed. He even extended a kind invitation to 303 Magazine writer Kat Todorovic, and the real star of the show, her dog, Tim, to try out HomeDog’s offerings firsthand.
Or, first paw.
Tim eagerly bounced through HomeDog’s entry-way coffee shop, his tippy-taps spinning with a smile only a mother could love cast across his snout. Breeze from South Broadway, sans its usual debauchery, filtered through the room. Wafts of hearty coffee beans split the air, but Tim was after something else. Denver-based dog food companies like Puppy Platter and Beggin Bandit’s Bakery were on display. Tim’s mouth literally drooled at the thought of those bite-sized, flavorful morsels reaching his palate. Farm to table is definitely taken seriously there, as Tim enjoyed his organic, probably GMO-free, sweet potato ring.
Novick guided Tim to the co-working space next, where aromas more resembling an Anthropology store, and less of your local PetSmart, smacked the nostrils. Tim quaked in his white-mittened boots, gawking at HomeDog’s mightily-sized co-working area offering both indoor and outdoor seating options, with plenty of chairs, desks, tables and even private meeting rooms at disposal.
Tim’s eyes then met those of another dog, Murray, who sat peacefully leashed beside his owner. The fellow pups coexisted with ease, even as the torrential riffs of laptop keyboards echoed faintly through the space. While HomeDog welcomes dogs of all personalities, from those fearful of their own shadow to even the slightly more rambunctious, they do encourage owners to use their best judgment, especially if their pups teeter on the yappy side.
But HomeDog sets everyone up for success with a basic etiquette guide for co-working with your dog, tacked neatly on nearby pinboards. Suggestions include bringing treats or enrichment toys, and when those run their inevitable boredom tolls, HomeDog’s daycare located in the back has a chorus of chew toys, yelping loudly. Tim, after all, was growing ever-so-slightly restless, finding himself answering the call of said squeak.
When designing HomeDog’s daycare, Novick built each room with intentionality, creating separate spaces tailored to different dogs’ temperaments and, in the future, sizes. The unique flexible model also allows for a range of on-site durations, whether your pup just needs to burn off steam for an hour or stretch their legs all workday long. Novick also wanted the space to have a distinct, edgier character. So, he invited 15 – 20 local graffiti artists to leave their mark as they saw fit.
And boy, did they.
Tim was stationed in the daycare room beneath a forewarning “good boy” stenciled on the wall. His charmingly awkward demeanor had him mingling with the other three pups like the new kid at recess, hoping someone would notice his tail. Both Novick and HomeDog daycare attendant Shayna Friedman suggested Tim would be best paired with Novick’s bernedoodle mix Narly, known for his gentle yet spirited style of play. They approach the pairings with the panache of a luxury matchmaking service.
While it’s hard to tell whether Tim’s brain is replaying elevator music or flipping through the pages of the Britannica, he made a meager effort to join Narly’s tomfoolery. Alas, these attempts led to rather pitiful mounting attempts, which Friedman kindly yet firmly corrected under her watchful eye.
Rest assured, as Tim’s daycare stint came to a close and he stared peculiarly, and menacingly, into the corner wall, HomeDog had another treat in store. While his “Windows Screen Saver” stare may have alarmed less professional staff, HomeDog’s experts know how to spot the difference between the derpy and the deranged. The space plans to offer training services through their affiliate trainer Trish Chen, who aims to eventually scale to group classes, small supervised play sessions and “pupventures,” one-on-one sessions tailored to each dog’s unique mind. At this rate, Tim was the perfect pupil for Chen, considering his ears caught the jingles reverberating from her treat pouch.
Tim tested out his training in another daycare room, where a psychedelic dog holding a bone inconspicuously watched overhead. With the oddly humid day in Denver taking its toll and moisture building at the nape of the neck, Tim attempted “roll-over” with Chen. He had “shake” down, even utilizing both paws to greet Novick himself, but “roll-over” posed a new challenge. One that required him to do more than just turn his head to his shoulder, and actually, roll over.
Chen kept Tim’s focus, though, his attention sharp through their practice in staying, sitting and even high-fiving. Using positive reinforcement, she tossed treats left and right, and Tim returned each time, eager for more. That is, aside from the occasional glances he made towards his Mom, whose presence was rendered obsolete with actual chopped liver in his mitts.
Tim’s training session concluded, and with his day nearly done, he made his slow, crestfallen return towards the car. He was tuckered after the day he’d had, even though he had only scratched the surface of HomeDog’s offerings. He didn’t even get a chance to experience their vibrant community events where groups like Denver Dog Moms and Wash Park Weenies find solace from the sweltering city heat. Still, his tongue lolled with satisfaction as he bid Novick a warm, albeit wobbly, farewell.
Ultimately, HomeDog is more than your average dog-centered space. Even as South Broadway churns through new businesses like hotcakes, what Novick has created offers a refreshingly innovative take on modern dog ownership. One that’s just as intentional as it is structured, keeping all species in mind.
After we got home, hardly an ounce of the usual daycare greasy grime clung to his fur. With Tim ready for a well-earned nap, it’s safe to say HomeDog is officially Denver Dog approved.
HomeDog is a dog-friendly co-working space with café and daycare amenities located at 1710 South Broadway, Denver. It is open Monday – Friday from 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., and closed Sundays.