DOGS TO RICHES
Entrepreneur magazine features the founders of Happy Tails, Teddy Tawil and Irving Fallas, who just opened their first brick and mortar on Duane in December, in its Sidehustle Q&A, noting that a $6000 investment in a Dodge Caravan during the pandemic is now about to hit $2.3 million. “Our ‘school bus for dogs’ concept took off right away, and word spread quickly,” the pair told Entrepreneur. “Within the first couple of months, demand was so high that we bought our second and third vans back-to-back. From the start, we had consistent monthly revenue, and it quickly grew as more people heard about our service. On average, each van was generating over $10,000 a month, and our expenses were gas/tolls and staffing.”

STRIKE AT THE ALAMO
The Broadsheet reports that the 90 unionized employees of the Alamo Drafthouse at 28 Liberty have gone on strike “after the theater chain’s corporate parent unilaterally moved to lay off approximately 25 percent of the location’s workforce.” The workers are part of United Auto Workers Local 2179.

GALLERIES JOINING FORCES
The Art Newspaper has a story about galleries that are sharing spaces in order to keep costs down, including a few in Tribeca. From The Art Newspaper: “For Deanna Evans [at 370 Broadweay], who launched her gallery four years ago, operating in Brooklyn for one year and Tribeca for the past three, the shared endeavour gives her access to a larger exhibition space and reduces overheads. Indeed, splitting finances is a major benefit as operation costs, such as rent, shipping and participating in art fairs, increase across the industry.”

BAR TULIX IS NOW BAR MERCER
A bit of news from a local restaurateur uptown: John McDonald, who has Smyth Tavern on Chambers and West Broadway, has turned his Bar Tulix in Soho into Bar Mercer, Eater reports. Chef Preston Clark will serve pigs in a blanket, hamachi crudo, a grilled pork chop with a mushroom and cipollini white wine sauce, and “hangover pasta,” with ham, bacon, egg, and pecorino. “I want it to feel like it has been there for 20 years,” says McDonald.