The legislation makes for snappy copy: Every spring, a politician somewhere in this country proposes a bill allowing diners to bring their dogs to restaurant outdoor patios.
Last June, Florida's governor signed a bill allowing its cities and counties to permit pets, a provision California has had on the books for more than 20 years.
This year, it was Dallas' turn to kick off 2007 with a city council vote allowing restaurant owners to apply for a local variance permitting dogs — not cats, hamsters or goldfish — to lounge next to owners at their outdoor patios. Now, an Oregon legislator wants to take his state one step further to allow dogs to hang out inside restaurants, too.
As a business move it's brilliant, says Aaron Allen, founder and chief executive of Orlando, Fla.-based restaurant consultancy Quantified Marketing. One of his favorite spots, Houston's, sets out doggy bowls for its canine customers, "and the place looks like a Ralph Lauren commercial on the weekends," he said. "It's zigging when everyone else zags, and that's what drives customers in and creates an affinity to the brand."
The why isn't difficult to puzzle out: Americans own approximately 75 million dogs, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. And we'll spend an estimated $40.8 billion this year keeping our four-legged friends safe and happy. Allen himself includes a Dachshund and a Great Dane as part of his family.
"Some people treat their animals just like children," Allen points out. "So it feels a little discriminatory to pet owners to see kids treated so nicely, yet they can't bring their dogs. Savvy marketers in hospitality operations are starting to make it more accessible."
Steve Aziz, owner of Bagels Plus in Tampa, Fla., certainly has zeroed in on this advantage. He's always allowed dogs to join their families on his porch, and has seen the number of diners increase as a direct result.
"It made a lot of difference in getting the word out about my restaurant because I didn't have the financials for advertising at first," Aziz said. "It's outside the building, and it doesn't bother me. And what restaurant owner wouldn't allow you bring your kids in?"
If people are crazy about their dogs, dogs are just as crazy about restaurants. Allen reports his Dachshund is quite upset with their closest Starbucks, which used to offer doggy treats to pooches peering through the drive-thru window. Management there recently halted that practice. "They're apologetic about it, but it upsets the animals and it upsets you because that fun part of the car ride has been taken away," he noted.
Not to mention the attitude he has to put up with when he passes that Starbucks while Fido rides shotgun.
"I don't know how he knows — he can barely see out the window, so it must be by smell — but he knows when we pass by Starbucks. Pulling into any other drive-thru that didn't offer treats doesn't excite him. But he goes nuts at Starbucks," Allen said.
That Bites
Yet for all the positives, few restaurants have taken advantage of available opportunities. Allen says marketing to pet owners hasn't really caught fire in his neck of the woods, despite a huge media spotlight when the bill was signed in May 2006
Even Dallas city council members who own dogs have expressed reservations on their vote. "I love dogs. (But) I don't want to go to a restaurant and see a dog going to the bathroom there," council member Mitchell Rasansky told a Dallas Morning News reporter.
It's not as if officials opened the floodgates without precautions. In Florida, for instance, participating restaurants must carry $1 million liability insurance to cover possible biting incidents. In Dallas, restaurants must provide a separate entrance for outdoor patios, post signs stating they are a dog-friendly business, install curtains separating the inside of a restaurant from its patio, prohibit dogs from sitting or standing on outdoor tables and chairs and avoid dogs touching restaurant serving staff.
