FLEMING ISLAND – Pooch-pampering dog owners will soon have a place where Fido can get a coconut paw wrap or a blueberry facial.

Woof Gang Bakery and Grooming will open in August along with Fresh Market, The Loop and other stores in the Island Walk North Shopping Center, now under construction off County Road 220.

“Woof Gang is a dog bakery that will offer gourmet fresh-baked dog treats and we’ll also do grooming,” said Mary Hardin, owner. “It’s a complete spa for dogs – the whole works with coconut paw wraps, blueberry facials and more. It’s a place where you can completely spoil your dog.”

There is a practical side to facials and paw wraps, though.

“We don’t really put the cucumbers on their eyes, though we can, and it isn’t real blueberries,” Hardin said. “It’s a face wash with aromatherapy that is used to clean their faces, get the dirt and food particles out and whiten their beards.”

It exfoliates as it is massaged in and works to relax the dog and there’s also a practical use for paw wraps.

“They’re, basically, walking around barefoot and they get dirt and sand up in their paws. Their pads take a lot of abuse and the wrap helps moisten and soften their pads to prevent them from cracking and getting infected,” Hardin said.

The bakery and spa for dogs will be part of a shopping center owned by O’Connor Development Corp. The center’s anchor store will be Fresh Market, an upscale grocer that was founded in 1982 in Greensboro, N.C..

“Fresh Market sells nothing but fresh and organic foods and the store will be big – 21,405 square feet,” said Arlene Mount, O’Connor Corp.’s director of sales and leasing.

She said the entire shopping center will be 40,805 square feet and also include Sola Salong, Williams Jewelry and Exit Magnolia Point Realty.

The Loop is a restaurant chain headquartered in Jacksonville with 10 locations in Northeast Florida and four in North Carolina. The organization had a store on Fleming Island until around eight years ago and has been waiting to return here. The new center presented The Loop’s Chief Operating Officer, Chris Hartley, with an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

“There weren’t any ideal spaces for us before now. We’ve been looking for two years and some were too large or too small, but this new center is ideal. We look for 3,000 square feet and this is just over that, Hartley said.

“We were also looking for a developer who would attract a store to anchor the center and target the same demographics we target and Fresh Market does that.”

Hartley said The Loop targets upper middle class families with an income in the range of $70,000. He said burgers are their top-seller, but The Loop sells just as many sandwiches and salads, overall. While pizza is only 20 percent of The Loop’s sales, Hartley said the variety makes the restaurant great for families.

Like the other stores in the Island Walk North Shopping Center, the Loop has set a target date for opening sometime in August, but Hartley said he would like to launch sooner, if possible.

In other Fleming Island retail, a new location for the Auto Buffs Car Wash is in the works for the area near the Carmike Cinema and a cupcake shop called Sivada’s is also on the way.

Also, the business park at Westover Plaza at U.S. Highway 17 and Westover Road will soon be home to an authentic Mexican restaurant that is preparing to open in March.

“Margarita’s will be open by mid-March and our idea is to offer a more modern concept of a Mexican restaurant with a professional environment, skilled employees and fast service for the customer satisfaction,” said the restaurant’s general manager,” Carlos Reyes.

Along with tequila and margaritas, the restaurant will offer typical Mexican fare – enchiladas, quesadillas and burritos, along with salads, varieties of chicken, steak, seafood, lunch specials and more.