When Josh Iachelli heads out the door to eat near his home, his two miniature golden retrievers, Chad and Derek, sit and stare.
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It’s a heartache Iachelli might soon get to avoid as aldermen weigh a proposal to let restaurants and cafes welcome dogs.
Ald. Timmy Knudsen, 43rd, plans to introduce an ordinance Thursday clearing the way for dog owners to bring their pups inside Chicago eateries. Owners of the small businesses in pet-dense areas say the opt-in change could be a boon.
“Pet lovers feel guilty leaving their dogs at home,” said Iachelli, who co-owns the bustling Happy Camper, Paradise Park and Homeslice restaurants. “If you have a pet, you want to be able to have those guys with you more hours of the day.”
Iachelli said he would use the ordinance to make sure his spots “always have room for pets,” an effort he has already made at his popular restaurants’ patios. The currently allowed outside “dog-friendly areas” his locations feature have helped customers feel like they have their “complete family” in tow, he said. And the dogs seem to like it too.
“They come in, they sit under the table and they’re just happy to get some extra love and attention,” Iachelli said.
Navigating the city’s dog-related rules has been a challenge for Sophie Evanoff, owner of Lincoln Park’s Vanille Patisserie.
Evanoff did not welcome customers to sit inside with dogs, but did allow them to grab pick-up orders with their pets. She has never had an unruly dog in her dessert shop, where food is kept packaged or in cases.
“To grab a coffee to go, two to five minutes, I don’t see how that is an issue,” she said.
But last winter, someone complained twice to the city’s Health Department about animals inside the shop. Health inspectors immediately showed up both times, once the day before Valentine’s Day, prompting hourslong inspections.
One inspector explained the rules. “’The only thing that’s gonna change it is if you change the law,’” Evanoff recalled.
So she did just that, contacting Knudsen and asking for the ordinance.
The North Side alderman knows he leads a “pet-friendly community.” Many of his Lincoln Park constituents would love to grab their coffee and sit on a patio with their animals at a store that welcomes that, he said.
But if he brought his boyfriend’s dog, Howie, “into Vanille or Colectivo or La Colombe, I’m putting that business at risk of getting a ticket,” he said. “I think that’s just not great policy.”
Many Chicagoans might be surprised to hear dogs aren’t already allowed in eateries, he said. Rules allowing service animals add to the confusion. He hopes his proposal will correct the “silly” restrictions and clear up muddled guidelines.
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“Businesses have so much regulation on them in a big city like Chicago, the thought with an ordinance like this is that it loosens up and creates a lot of flexibility in the market for them to operate how they want,” he said.
Evanoff, who didn’t know about Chicago’s strict rules until the complaints, said she would once again allow to-go customers to bring their pets inside if the ordinance passes.
“We are losing customers if we say ‘no dogs,’” she said. “It’s such a dog community, and I think dog owners treat their dog like a member of the family. It does dictate where they go.”
If aldermen give Knudsen’s proposal the nod, she plans to host a “big dog party.” Her patisserie already sells dog treats, sometimes in pumpkin, sometimes in peanut butter. And she might even bring back her “dog macaroons,” which feature a peanut-butter-and-instant-mash-potato filling.
Knudsen’s ordinance could first come up for a vote next month. Sorry, cat, turtle, bird and koala owners, the measure would only apply to pooches.
Naji Al-Awar, who owns Lincoln Park’s Ludlow Charlingtons Coffee Shop, said he would also allow dogs inside.
“It would be really fun to be able to call ourselves a dog-friendly coffee shop,” he said.
Al-Awar had a sign posted on the shop’s front door acknowledging the city’s rules. He said he “puts the trust in other adults” to follow the law. A health inspector made him reprint the sign with a larger font.
When service dogs come in, they don’t go to the back area where food is prepared, he said.
“There’s not really an opportunity for them to contaminate anything,” Al-Awar said.
He dreamed up his dog-themed cafe after adopting his pup, Cora, who is depicted in the shop’s logo. Stately portraits of dogs once up for adoption in the city’s kennel line the walls. Pastries ordered by human customers come served in dog bowls. He donates half the profits from merchandise sales to a nonprofit that supports the city’s shelter.
There’s just one thing missing.