Santa Monica’s elite canines are about to experience the ultimate summer flex.
DOG PPL –– a private “country club for dogs” in Ocean Park –– is importing 200,000 pounds of real California sand for a members-only “Beach Day” on Sunday, August 23.
[Fun fact: the actual Pacific Ocean is just two miles down the road.]
“At first glance it sounds ridiculous,” co-founder Alex Esguerra admits. “But for me, it’s smart. If you can’t go to the beach, bring the beach to you.”
Esguerra, who opened the club with partner Liam Underwood in 2021, says his business thrives on providing unique experiences for its two and four legged members.They’ve already hosted country line dancing events (with mechanical bulls!), disco nights and a drag show.
Each winter the 21,000 square foot park is famously covered with man-made snow.
“We always wanted to do an event at the beach,” Esguerra tells The Sun.
“The vision I had was to go to Malibu, rent a house on the beach, set up fencing, turn the lifeguard tower into a DJ booth with our referees dressed as lifeguards and bring in a sand sculptor to create obstacle courses.”
But faced with permit hurdles and local off-leash laws, he decided it would be easier to truck in enough sand to fill a 15,000 gallon swimming pool –– and haul it away the next morning.
Starting late Saturday night, a 20-person crew armed with shovels, wheelbarrows, and heavy-duty industrial tarps will transform the park’s usual artificial turf into a coastal paradise.
When the gates open Sunday, pups will splash in eight foot pools while owners munch on complimentary Goop Kitchen pizza, sip Pisco lemonades, and clean up at dog-washing stations sponsored by luxury brand OUAI.
Then Monday morning, everything will be scooped up, hauled off, and filtered back into local playground supply chains.
“Really, this is a gift from us to the members,” Esguerra says. “It’s a benefit to make the membership worthwhile.”
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DOG PPL –– which celebrates its fifth anniversary on September 9 –– offers monthly memberships starting at $130. The setup features a full bar, snack counter, big-screen TVs, high-speed Wi-Fi, shade sails, and cushioned seats.
It’s a full-blown social club for humans where pets are the VIPs. And the concept may not be confined to Santa Monica for long.
The company is actively pursuing a second Southern California location.
“That is our number one goal right now,” Esguerra says.
The pair are keeping a particular eye on post-COVID business parks now burdened by office vacancies and vast stretches of empty asphalt. Those properties can offer the rare combination DOG PPL needs: a large footprint, outdoor space, utilities and, of course, parking.
“One thing I’ve learned after doing this for five years is that securing real estate takes longer than you can imagine,” Esguerra admits. “We have a bunch (of potential locations) in the pipeline, but nothing set in stone enough to announce yet.”
In the meantime, Santa Monica dogs have a beach date Sunday –– no ocean required.
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