Bark has the dog-friendliest office in Columbus—see inside

Bark, a new tenant of Kaufman Development’s Gravity in Franklinton, took Columbus CEO on a tour of the dog-centric office.

Everything in the space, which was designed by Columbus architecture firm NBBJ, is thoughtfully designed with dogs in mind. Floors are a material that can withstand the wear-and-tear of many paws, and furniture is built to accommodate both dogs and owners for some cuddle time. Obviously, dogs can be spotted all over the office, napping near owners or playing in a fenced area just for them. Clean-up stations stand at the ready throughout in case of an accident. “Dogs are allowed everywhere,” says Hernan Giraldo, Bark’s vice president of customer experience operations. “We're crazy dog people that that want to help dogs.”

New York City-based Bark’s business is making Barkboxes, a collection of dog treats, toys and other products that people can subscribe to monthly. Favorite toys of Barkboxes past provide are littered throughout the space at Gravity, and some are even commemorated as conference room themes (for example, Penny the Pineapple, a popular stuffed, smiling pineapple). In fact, all conference room themes are sentimental—one honors a staff member who became famous after having a lot of fun at an office party (the conference room graphic is of her breathing fire).

Columbus Bark employees maintain personal friendships with the customers they serve, regularly taking advantage of an office card station set up to send personal notes of congratulations, condolences and anything in between to Bark customers.

“If one of our dog parents loses a dog, we will provide some different additional support,” says Giraldo. “We strive to be much more than [just] a customer experience team.”

Giraldo says the space offers room to grow for the 200-plus customer service employees who work there supporting the subscription box operation.

“That was one of the reasons we were drawn to this partnership with Kaufman,” he says. “They have really great plans for this building but there’s also opportunities for future growth as he thinks about the other phases of his project.”

Chloe Teasley is staff writer for Columbus CEO.