Meet the animals in Asheville’s local businesses

The ubiquity of Ashevilleans bringing their pets everywhere is a common subject of mockery, as not every pet is as well-behaved as its caretaker might think. (This author tried to do the “dogs in bars” thing and ended up scrubbing pee off the floor of Haywood Country Club.) But others are so friendly, well-behaved and chill that their owners bring them to work.

Xpress conducted a thorough and highly scientific survey of Asheville’s shop pets. We’ve interviewed a few of their owners, but that’s just scratching the surface. (Get it? A pet pun!)

Marty at The Golden Pineapple

Guests at The Golden Pineapple, a cocktail bar and restaurant in West Asheville, will notice a few menu items with the name Marty on them. There’s a mango cocktail known as the Marty Robbins (which is also the name of a country Western singer). Another beverage is called Marty’s Mugshot. And on Sunday nights, the establishment sells a bar-style pizza named Marty’s Way.

The real Marty has never drank a cocktail before, and surprisingly, she doesn’t like the pepperoni on her namesake pizza. Marty is a 27-pound chihuahua, dachshund and terrier mix — at least, those are the best-guess breeds from her owner Katey Ryder.

Ryder, co-owner of Golden Pineapple, adopted Marty during the COVID-19 pandemic. A friend’s mother found Marty wandering the woods of central North Carolina; the friend transported Marty to Asheville to find a forever home and Ryder scooped her up.

However, regular Golden Pineapple guests might never see Marty. Ryder brings her in the mornings or early afternoons for delivery arrivals; the mellow pooch sometimes stops by on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, when the bar’s clientele is more relaxed. But Ryder says she usually takes Marty home around the time daily dinner service starts. “She’s not here when it’s poppin’,” Ryder explains, because her dog gets overwhelmed.

Marty is prohibited from entering the kitchen and has been trained to stop at its awning. In fact, Ryder continues, when Marty wants to go home, she’ll sit in the awning and stare into the kitchen at her mom.

Marty’s also doesn’t partake in any of Golden Pineapple’s menu items. If a customer asks, Ryder might let them feed her a dog treat. Mostly Marty is interested in acquiring pats. She taps her nose against patrons’ bodies — Ryder calls it “noodle-nosing” — until they pet her, or to encourage them to continue the physical affection. “She doesn’t like it when people stop petting her,” she says.

Customers who want to meet Marty will have to do so before the fall. According to Axios Charlotte, a new law adjusted licensing for venues that sell alcohol and food. Starting Oct. 1, only service animals will be permitted inside restaurants.

Millie at Jonny’s Barbershop

Folklore has it that a stork delivers a baby on the doorstep. But for Jonny Katzmarek of Jonny’s Barbershop, located in the Grove Arcade, the little bundle of joy who appeared unannounced was a poodle mix named Millie.

Katzmarek’s girlfriend, Laura Fairley, found Mille, who had broken legs, on her doorstep on Thanksgiving. After contacting local veterinarians to determine if Millie belonged to someone, they adopted her.

Katzmarek, who opened Jonny’s Barbershop in January, has been bringing Millie to the shop ever since. At first, the pint-sized pup got underfoot while she adjusted to the new environment, he says. Now she relaxes on the couch or in her dog bed, and she watches her dad cut hair. Her favorite place to hang out, however, is in a sling that Katzmarek wears. He cut a hole in the side of the sling so the small dog can peek her head out.

“She gives a lot of love and calms people down,” Katzmarek says. She tags along to the gym and acupuncture with Katzmarek. “I’m definitely a little obsessed with her.” Although, not obsessed enough to groom her — that falls to Fairley. He’s a barber, not a dog groomer.

Millie isn’t the only pet inside Jonny’s Barbershop. A customer who was moving out of town asked Katzmarek if he could take the family’s betta fish named Banana. Between Banana and Millie, Katzmarek has plenty of company.

Hoover at Saniway Vacuum Cleaner Company

Cats shed every single day, and twice a year they lose their coats even more. Fortunately, Hoover the cat lives in a vacuum cleaner shop.

Phillip Koch adopted Hoover from Buncombe County Animal Shelter in 2012. He has always had pet cats, he says, but his adoption of this tabby cat was strategic. At the time, about a dozen feral cats were being fed and cared for on the strip of West Asheville where Saniway Vacuum Cleaner Co. and a number of restaurants operate. Koch says when Asheville Humane Society rounded up the feral cats, suddenly rodents appeared.

Koch “hired” Hoover for the job of rodent remediation and impressed his new boss immediately. The only unpleasant part of the arrangement was Hoover would leave his fresh kills in the Saniway window, Koch says. Hoover also killed a bird on Saniway’s back patio, and caught a bird who flew inside the shop. (Koch was able to extract the bird and let it free, unharmed.)

Koch describes his cat as “supersociable” with customers. (Indeed, Hoover made a photoshoot with Xpress difficult because he was constantly rubbing against the photographer’s legs.) But not everyone is as enthusiastic about Hoover. “A lot of people are afraid of cats,” Koch says, explaining that some customers will stand at the door to speak with him, rather than come inside the shop.

For his part, Hoover isn’t scared of vacuuming sounds, or vacuums themselves; he’s only afraid of thunder and lightning. He also doesn’t like grabby little children, although Koch describes him as a mellow cat. He’s never scratched or bit anyone.

Hoover lives in the Saniway shop full-time; his Igloo litter box, Wifi-enabled water bowl and food are in the back room. Koch lives within walking distance of the shop and visits his cat daily. Although there aren’t many rats or mice to catch nowadays, Hoover manages to keep busy by stealing pencils and hiding them under the window. He also performs playful “sneak-attacks” on any dogs who enter the store by swatting them with his paw.

When he’s not up to mischief, Hoover likes to stare through Saniway’s front door at Marty the dog in Golden Pineapple, which is located next door to the shop.

Hoover also likes to stretch out in the Saniway window. “He’s great publicity,” Koch says.

Lou at The Local Barber & Tap

People walking along West Walnut Street may peek into the windows of The Local Barber & Tap expecting to get a glance at someone receiving a shave. Instead, they might see 4-year-old shih tzu poodle mix Lou getting a belly rub from her dad, barber Eric Gold.

Gold adopted her off of Craigslist in 2020 — “love at first sight,” he says. He conferred with owner Jordan Stolte about bringing her in. Stolte suggested he bring her in at first and see how it goes. It turned out that Stolte is “one of her favorite people in the world,” and now Lou comes in every day.

Lou greets Local Barber & Tap customers with some barks, and her reception is “very warm,” her dad says. She recognizes regulars and has an “excited bark” for them. He notes that she adores babies and children (and also french fries).

Lou stays out of the way when hair is being cut, Gold says. She’ll play with her toys or nap on a chair. The only time she interacts with customers is when a fly enters the shop. “She’s terrified of flies,” he explains. “She will hide underneath the clients’ feet.”

Similar to Millie at Jonny’s Barbershop, Lou doesn’t get her hair cut in her father’s place of work. She gets groomed elsewhere, always with “her signature mohawk,” Gold says.