Businesses collaborate to bring pets downtown

Many downtown Black Mountain shops, galleries, restaurants and breweries have always been pet-friendly, some even welcoming them with treats and bowls of water. Now those businesses are identified with a heart and paw "pet-friendly" sticker on their doors.

“We wanted to provide a consistent image to make it easy for customers to identify which businesses are pet-friendly,” said Kim McMurtry, the owner of Europa, who spearheaded the project. “Pet-friendly businesses are also identified with the same image on the 'Visit Black Mountain' website, visitblackmountain.net.”

Pet-friendly shops downtown include Antiques on Sutton, BAD Craft, Bella Gallery, Black Mountain Books, Black Mountain Quilts, Black Mountain Yarn Shop, Bone-a-Fide Pet Boutique, Bramblewood, Chifferobe Home & Garden, Common Housefly, Curiosity Shoppe, Dancing Dragonfly, Europa, Giftcrafts, Head to Toe, Key City Antiques, Merry Wine Market, Mountain Nest, One Fly Outfitters, Score, Song of the Wood, Spice it Up, Town Hardware, Vertical Runner, and Visions of Creation.

Downtown restaurants that have pet-friendly outside seating include Berliner Kindl Germany Restaurant, Black Mountain Ale House, Dark City Deli, Foothills Butcher Bar, Louise’s Kitchen, My Father’s Pizza, Roots & Fruits Café, Veranda Cafe and The Trailhead Restaurant (if you can lift your animal over the deck railing).

Black Mountain Ciderworks, Lookout Brewing, and Pisgah Brewing Company also welcome pets. For overnight visitors, Monte Vista Hotel downtown is pet-friendly, and Arbor House Bed and Breakfast on Lake Tomahawk offers a pet-friendly suite.

“Customers bring in dogs on leashes, dogs in strollers – we even see cats in backpacks,” said Michael Liss, owner of Common Housefly, one of the businesses that have always welcomed pets.