'Canine boutique salon' Fido & Stitch to open on ground floor of new Belknap Lookout development

As 616 Development prepares to move in the first tenants Nov. 1 at its $22 million, four-story renovation project at 820 Monroe Ave. NW, new “canine boutique salon” Fido & Stitch gears up for its own grand opening later next month in suite 140 on the building’s ground floor. 

The retail portion of the 1,500-square-foot space will feature a boutique shop for specialty brands of dog food and accessories, while the salon will feature one on-site professional groomer alongside a separate self-service dog wash, where Fido & Stitch Co-Owner Alli McDonough says everything from shampoos and conditioners to towels and dryers will be provided for owners who want to bring their pups in for a wash. 

“You’ll be able to go there and find anything you need for your dog. It’s like a big box store, but with us there are more specialty brands and different options,” says McDonough, who co-owns Fido & Stitch with her husband Joe. “It’s more luxury items, but definitely not bank-breaking…I’m a big advocate for treating your dog how you’d want to be treated.”

McDonough, a Grand Rapids native, had the idea to open Fido & Stitch while finishing her MBA at Davenport University, drawing inspiration from the abundance of similarly boutique-style dog stores she used to frequent while living in Chicago. 

Though she says she looked at retail spaces in Eastown and Creston neighborhoods, the space at 820 Monroe Ave. NW seemed like the perfect positioning for Fido & Stitch to tap into a previously untapped market, conveniently located in the same building as 85 one- and two-bedroom apartment units. 

“It all happened pretty quickly,” she says, “A lot of it, I think, due to my excitement and ambition to get this open.” 

McDonough says they expect to hold a grand opening event mid- to late November, but plan to announce the official date on the Fido & Stitch Facebook page soon. 

By Anya Zentmeyer, Development News Editor
Images courtesy of Fido & Stitch

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