Dogma Bakery Moving Into Loyal Companion's Clarendon Location

ARLINGTON, VA — Dogma Dog Bakery is opening a new location at the former Loyal Companion Store in Clarendon starting March 1. Dogma already has a store in the Village at Shirlington.

The new location will be at 2509B Franklin Road, just off Wilson Boulevard in Clarendon.

The Loyal Companion pet store chain is closing all 11 locations in Virginia and Washington, D.C., by the end of February after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month. This past weekend, the Clarendon location held a big sale, with 15 to 40 percent off all items.

Dogma opened its first store in the Lee Harrison shopping center in Arlington in 2000. Loyal Companion also is planning to close its store in the Lee Harrison shopping center, but Dogma does not plan to move back into that shopping center.

In the same announcement, Dogma said it plans to fully reopen its store in Reston at the Lake Anne and Washington Plaza next month.

“This is only possible due to the combined efforts and hard work of the existing Dogma team in Shirlington and Reston, and the new members of the team who will remain working in their store in Clarendon," Dogma owner Sheila Raebel said in a statement. "They worked extra hours, showed a great deal of patience and flexibility, and supported each other. I am very fortunate to have such good staff members and appreciate all they do.”

Raebel told ARLnow that the decision to keep the Loyal Companion staff in Clarendon was made after she "met the staff there and saw how hard they were taking the closure of their store."

"I couldn’t let that happen," she told ARLnow.