It Just Might Work: Vending dog treats on the greenway

by Eric Ginsburg

One day, hopefully before my knees start to give out, the Downtown Greenway in Greensboro will be finished. And when it is, there will be plenty of amenities. But there’s one that would be a perfect fit that I’m not sure anyone has considered.

Dog treats.

Picture a vending machine designed to dispense dog treats, situated along the greenway loop somewhere near a trailhead (like Spring Garden) where people also walk their canines on the sidewalk. It would slay.

I don’t know if the machine could or should also offer things like Gatorade and bottled water — that’s a technical question out of my pay-grade and knowledge base. I have no idea if such a machine would need to be custom built or could be retrofitted, but it can’t be all that difficult a task in the right hands.

And like I said, it would slay.

In the unlikely event that you don’t immediately recognize the brilliance of this plan, allow me to point out ArcBarks, a locally based company making dog treats. Oh, and it’s just up the street.

It would’ve been easier to execute this concept flawlessly if the pop-up dog park at South Elm Street and Gate City Boulevard overlapped with the completion of the greenway (which will roll through along the adjacent Bragg Street along the former pop-up’s south side). But I’m inclined to believe a treat trap near the Edgeworth overpass on Spring Garden would do so well, the pilot project could be expanded to other city greenways and dog parks before quickly taking over regional cities.

Winston-Salem may be more fertile ground for such an experiment, considering the presence of K9 Doggie Bakery & Boutique as well as Alison Industries, a locally based vending company. I don’t care much who does it first — I don’t even have a dog — but I hope someone around here tries it and thrives.