GREENUP, Ky. — There is a new doghouse on Main Street in Greenup, and it has been packed so far, owner Mike Sark said.

The Doghouse Pizza & Pub, located in downtown Greenup across from the courthouse offers fare people have come to expect in a pub setting. Sark said patrons can come in and have a meal with their families and friends, watch some sports, and enjoy an alcoholic beverage if they are so inclined.

Sark and his wife are from Coal Grove, and he said that he has been looking for a place to open a pub for quite some time.

“We love pizza, we love sports, and we like to have a cold beer from time to time,” Sark said about him and his wife. Sark said he connected with Jeremy Bates, who had been a prominent advocate of passing the new alcohol ordinances, and Bates convinced him to try opening a pub in Greenup.

“So, I came here (Greenup) and started looking at some places,” he said, finally deciding on the pub’s current location. Sark and his wife, Stacie, have been working on the pub since November 2020 and just recently realized his goal of opening.

The process wasn’t easy, he said.

“It was a long, hard road, but it was worth it,” Sark said. “It took a long time to get the liquor license, but we had a lot of good people behind us.”

Sark said both local and state officials were helpful, providing information to help streamline the process somewhat.

“They (the officials) made it as easy as possible, but still it was a long process,” he said.

Sark said that there is a lot of research that has to be shown, as well as background checks and the like, because it isn’t simply about showing that you have the finances to operate. The type of business you are opening has to adhere to certain regulations and guidelines before the license is ever approved.

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