Back to school means back to routine, these local businesses can help

Park City High School gets new sign on new building. Photo: TownLift // Michele Roepke

PARK CITY, Utah — August marks a return to the classroom. As kids head back to school, families and even pets are settling into new schedules, and Park City Chamber of Commerce businesses are ready to help the community make the transition smooth.

Premier Pet Lodge: A routine for the whole household, pets included

While kids return to their desks, dogs can get back on a schedule too. Kathleen Tollison is the owner of Premier Pet Lodge, located just outside Kamas in Francis. She notes that when kids go back to school and routines settle, pets can get back to daycare or even enroll in school too.

The lodge offers puppy preschool for dogs up to 6 months old, combining basic obedience, enrichment and socialization. Puppies attend two to three days a week, with transportation included, Tollison said. A trainer also visits the family’s home every four days to review progress and plan the next stretch of sessions, continuing until the puppy completes the 16-day program.

Dogs older than 6 months can join canine college, a similar program that pairs training with the lodge’s daycare group so dogs also get socialization and enrichment while they learn, Tollison said. Private lessons, grooming and bathing are also available.

Doggy daycare runs seven days a week in a 5,000-square-foot fenced, turfed yard, with dogs separated by size for structured play, Tollison said. The lodge also offers daily transportation for daycare.

With the holidays approaching later this year, Tollison encouraged families to plan ahead for boarding.

“It’s always essential to do that ahead of time, because people get stuck two weeks before Thanksgiving and they don’t have a spot for their dog or pet,” she said.

The lodge also offers exotic boarding for most animals, with one exception, Tollison said, laughing: birds are too particular.

PC Tots: Enrolling now for the new school year

For PC Tots, back-to-school season lines up directly with its own enrollment period, said Sue Banerjee, who leads the nonprofit early education provider.

“This is the best time for families to enroll their children into a childcare program,” Banerjee said. Classrooms are being reconfigured as infants move up to toddlers and toddlers move into pre-K, opening a limited number of spots in each age group. Families can enroll through the registration and waitlist section on the PC Tots website, with no application fee.

PC Tots operates full days, Monday through Friday, year-round, so families do not need to arrange separate summer child care, Banerjee said.

Banerjee said she wants the community to know PC Tots is the only nonprofit early education provider in Park City, with a mission to make high-quality care accessible for all children regardless of a family’s income.

About 80% of PC Tots families receive a tuition scholarship, funded through fundraising and awarded based on income level, Banerjee said. The nonprofit also welcomes volunteers to read to children, assist with infant care or help with classroom art projects.

Dream Clean: A reset for busy households

As families adjust to new schedules, a professional cleaning service can help lighten the load, said Isabelle Hernandez, owner of Dream Clean, a locally owned and operated cleaning company serving Park City and the Heber areas.

Hernandez suggested a regular cleaning schedule, such as biweekly service, as a good fit for families settling into a new school year routine. Every new client starts with a walkthrough so the team can tailor its work to the home’s specific needs, she said. Clients can also request a deep clean for their first visit before moving to a regular maintenance schedule, Hernandez said.

“We tailor our service to each individual home,” she said.

A typical cleaning team includes three to four people, depending on the size of the home, Hernandez said. She visits each job herself to consult with clients and follows up afterward to confirm they’re satisfied. Prospective clients can request a free walkthrough for the most accurate pricing estimate. Dream Clean also offers commercial cleaning services in addition to residential.

Big Daddy’s Pizza: An easy dinner for a busy schedule

As kids head back to school, sports and other extracurriculars, Big Daddy’s Pizza offers families an easy dinner to pick up and go, co-owner Nicole Vaca said.

The New York-style pizzeria’s 12-inch pizzas start at $10 for a cheese or one-topping pie, a popular grab-and-go option for families on the go. For larger gatherings, such as a back-to-school party or team celebration, go for the biggest pizza in town—the 26-inch pizza serves a crowd and comes with a side of parmesan bites for $37.99.

Big Daddy’s also offers a standing 10% discount for locals. Other popular menu items include wings, cinnamon streusel bites and mac and cheese bites. The restaurant keeps things fresh by making its dough daily and marinara sauce in-house.

Vaca and her husband, Jhonaton, have owned and operated Big Daddy’s for six years, alongside their daughters and a dedicated staff they consider family. Some of their family’s favorites are Alfredo cheese pizza, BBQ chicken, the Super combo, and wings with house-made ranch!

Offbeat Productions: Gearing up school spirit

For more than 35 years, Offbeat Productions has outfitted schools, teams and clubs with branded apparel and other swag, said owner Shannon Nellis.

The company’s back-to-school offerings mirror what a school store might carry, Nellis said, from hats and pencils to backpacks and tote bags. Past community projects have included T-shirts for the high school’s aviation program, exam-day T-shirts an AP Government teacher ordered to encourage her students, hoodies for the figure skating club’s parade appearances and mugs for the Chamber’s Mountainkind™ Mornings event.

To make the ordering process less overwhelming, Offbeat Productions groups products into curated collections, Nellis said, though custom requests outside those collections are common too. The company also offers a growing selection of sustainable branded items, she said.

Beyond apparel, Offbeat Productions works on a wide range of community projects, including swag bags for fundraisers, materials for trade shows, and display items for exhibits at the Park City Library, Nellis said. The company handles both apparel and what Nellis calls “hard goods,” such as mugs and other non-apparel items, and can typically create custom products even outside its existing collections.

Nellis said she and her team enjoy helping clients who are still working out what they want.

“Ideas are free,” Nellis said. “We try to put our creativity and our expertise in there and be the solution.”