This column is part of the Off Menu newsletter, where, every Wednesday, you’ll get the latest restaurant news, gossip, tips, and takes. To sign up, visit the newsletter page and select Off Menu.
The other day at a bougie café (that I don’t want to call out), I watched a huge Siberian husky leap up and put its paws on the counter. As its owner placed her order, she didn’t command her dog, now eye-level with the cashier, to get down. Her face was not red with embarrassment. She just hemmed and hawed, pondering her croissant of choice while stroking her sumptuously hirsute canine.
I couldn’t help but imagine some fluff wafting into the open kitchen and settling onto a sticky-sweet pastry. Whether or not the cafe was OK with this, I, as the person next in line to order, was not into it.
I’m not anti-dog by any means, but in a time when people are all for setting boundaries, I don’t think enough respect the “no pets” signs that hang on the doors of many restaurants, bars, cafes, and grocery stores. (Patios and parklets, on the other hand, are great places for pups to hang out.)
I’m not breaking any news here. Entitled San Francisco dog owners have become national fodder. A week ago, The Wall Street Journal published “America’s most dog-friendly city has had enough,” echoing a story that The Standard ran last year.
Our famously permissive dog culture has given the haters another anti-SF squeaky toy to squeak. “Finally! A problem the National Guard could actually help with!” one quipped in the WSJ’s comment section. Another sniffed, “Complain all you will, but once-beautiful San Francisco is today run by lunatic Democrats who believe dogs have special rights just like the homeless, the illegals, and the criminals.”
You’d think this issue would be moot because California law (opens in new tab) does not allow dogs in eating or drinking establishments unless they’re registered service animals. Technically, it’s a health code violation. But, legally, a business cannot demand proof of an animal’s service status, beyond asking two permissible questions (opens in new tab): “Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?” and “What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?” (opens in new tab)
All the news you can eat
Get the Off Menu newsletter every Wednesday for the latest restaurant dish.
Two restaurant industry lawyers I queried said they’ve never heard of an American Disabilities Act lawsuit being brought against a restaurant for challenging the legitimacy of a service dog. But I imagine that’s because few people in hospitality are going to dare to pose the questions. The risk of offending a pet owner or being shamed on social media isn’t worth it. Being sued might be less financially ruinous for a restaurant than being canceled by a dog influencer on TikTok.
I asked my Standard workmates if they’re for or against dogs in restaurants. Opinions were fierce. Most, even the dog owners, were surprisingly in opposition. “I love dogs,” said one. “But I’m very anti-dogs in restaurants because it’s disgusting.” Another, who brings his dog “everywhere,” said he’d never bring her into a restaurant — barring Hi Tops for basketball games. “They do not give a fuck there. There are lots of dogs in there all the time.”
It is notable that bars — even those that serve food — appear to be a gray zone, giving dog owners more license to cross the threshold. One SF bartender messaged me stories of customers tripping over dogs, dogs jumping on her while she was working, leashes wrapping around her legs, and dogs being aggressive toward her and fighting with one another.
Another Oakland bar owner told me tales of even off-leash dogs being brought into his dark, loud, crowded club. “As someone who was in charge of enforcing health codes, I was obviously mortified,” he said. Approaching one owner, he was told, simply: “I don’t do leashes, man.” The experience left him bitter. “I grew up with dogs, but I’m soured.”
However, some bar owners are all for dogs, including proud bulldog owner (opens in new tab) Josh Harris of Trick Dog, who texted, “I think they should be allowed everywhere, but unfortunately not everybody feels the same way.” Justin Lew of Horsefeather and Last Rites is similarly a dog proponent. He took his beloved pitbull Penny, certified as a service animal, into grocery stores and coffee shops until she died last year. He’s all for well-behaved, small dogs at his bars, but even he has a limit. “A dog can’t sit on the booth next to you and eat off the plate, and that has happened. People do what they do until you tell them not to.”
From a zeitgeist point of view, the anonymous Oakland bar owner thinks blind devotion to one’s dog is trending, particularly among older millennials, his own generation. He says it says less about entitlement than about emotional redirection. “People have decided not to have kids but transferred that energy onto a dog, and they are starting to behave in weird ways. That dog is the most important thing in their life, and now, no matter what, it’s coming to the bar.”
Though, as a parent, he notes that kids and dogs are, of course, very different. “When I go out, I can’t choose to leave my child alone in the backyard.”