Michelle Dedeo, left, and Luis Elviro have opened Tides & Tails, a self-serve dog wash in Seaside. (Photo by Jasmine Lewin/The Astorian)

Sandy paws can get a wash at Tides & Tails

When Luis Elviro and Michelle Dedeo visited Seaside from their Everett, Washington, home, they saw a town full of dog-loving beachgoers and sandy paws trotting along behind them.

The idea to open a self-serve dog wash in town came from their own 4-year-old Labrador Retriever, June, who would return home from walks happy and tired, but covered in sand, dirt and whatever else she happened to roll in while on her excursions.

Tides & Tails, located on S. Roosevelt Drive, opened last month. Dedeo said that the moment it opened, people started showing interest in the idea and asking questions about the business.

“Everybody who’s walked by here has been like, ‘When are you open?’ ‘How long has this been here?’” she said. “Just that big curiosity has been fascinating — the amount of people that have followed and engaged with us on Instagram; two people came in because of that.”

Currently, the dog wash is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday, though there are plans to open full time in the future. Elviro and Dedeo, who still live in Washington, come down each weekend to manage the business.

For $25 — 50% off on Sundays — customers can choose from five different stations to wash their dogs in, each equipped with different kinds of shampoos. The lavender oatmeal shampoo is a favorite so far.

Above each wash station, customers are reminded of the steps to wash their dogs: brush, soak and lather, rinse, condition, and dry. And, of course, the last step is treats, which are also offered at the location.

Elviro and Dedeo spent a while brainstorming names for the business, but landed on Tides & Tails because they felt it was the perfect combination of beachiness and dogginess.

The decorations followed suit — initially a plain white room, the duo painted the space a vibrant blue, Dedeo’s favorite color and another testament to the oceanside location.

“He (Elviro) owns the building, and so when it changed over we just kept looking at the space; it was like everything was here,” Dedeo said. “It must have been a beauty salon at some point, because it had a ton of plumbing, and everything was already here, except for the tubs and stuff. So that really added to the opportunity.”

Dedeo said that Seaside has proven so far to be a great place for small businesses.

“I think that people are very open to new businesses coming into this town, which has been fascinating,” she said. “And I think the transition, the change, just in the availability, everybody’s been super curious, super interested.

“And then there’s just a lot of opportunities that make it very easy to get started, very easy to get set up. It’s a very dog friendly town on this part of the coast. And not only is it just dog friendly, but everybody here has like, three dogs.”