Client Spotlight: Downtown Dogs and Dog’s Day Out

A personalized, highly responsive approach to serving clients is something Riverland Bank and Downtown Dogs have in common. Moving their business to Riverland in 2019, owner Ralph Bernstein (who is a former banker himself) was impressed with Riverland’s willingness to work with an unusual business and to not try to fit them into a cookie-cutter vision of what a small business “should” look like.

“Working with the team at Riverland has been so refreshing,” said Ralph. “My calls are always answered — from the start they made it their priority to understand and support my business. Big banks don’t have that luxury and many small banks don’t do this nearly as well as Riverland.”

Downtown Dogs is just as dedicated to their customers as we are at Riverland Bank. As the largest dog daycare and boarding facility in the Twin Cities, they designed a model that allows them to truly give every dog the best experience possible. Accepting all breeds, they group the dogs by temperament, rather than size, providing the dogs with a more comforting experience. The staff takes the time to make sure every single dog gets rest, personal attention, and plenty of playtime and exercise.

Shortly after he began working with Riverland, Ralph came to the bank with a business plan for a new concept — a combination of self-service bathing and full-service grooming business. His banker, Steve Burow EVP, Commercial Banking, quickly got behind the idea and helped him line up financing for construction, making it possible for Dog’s Day Out to open in June 2020.

We are proud to partner with Ralph; helping our customers succeed and strengthen our communities is at the heart of what we do at Riverland Bank. We can’t wait to see what is next for these amazing businesses.

Learn more about Downtown Dogs by visiting dtdogs.com.

Interested in banking with Riverland Bank? Contact us today.