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Tampa Restaurants Need Permit Before Dogs Can Dine
Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN
A sign outside Java & Cream welcomes patrons and their dogs to dine at the Davis Islands restaurant.
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Published: August 20, 2008
TAMPA - Canine lovers on Davis Islands are known to run their pets down to the dog park on lazy Saturday mornings, after which many then head straight for the business district to grab some coffee or a midmorning snack.
Now some restaurants owners are realizing the long-standing tradition of allowing patrons to dine with their dogs is illegal without a city permit.
"My knee-jerk reaction was, 'This is crazy,'" said Traci Rinoldo, owner of Java & Cream. "I had no idea prior to 2006 it was illegal to have dogs in this environment. Then it made sense."
Last month, her shop became the first restaurant in the city to successfully receive a dog-dining permit.
Technically, all other eating establishments in Tampa that allow patrons to bring dogs into the eating areas are violating city rules.
In 2006, the Legislature passed a law allowing local governments to opt out of Food and Drug Administration codes that prohibit dogs in restaurants. Once a city adopts a "doggie-dining" ordinance, restaurants can choose whether to participate.
The city council adopted a dog-dining ordinance in November 2006. As state law requires, the ordinance mandates participating restaurants to ensure employees wash their hands after petting dogs and prohibits employees from touching dogs while serving food. Restaurants also are required to have hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies in the outdoor seating area.
The 2006 state law called for a three-year pilot program, which sunsets in July.
The doggie-dining rules were the subject of two public hearings and a council vote, but word of the new regulations seemed to spread slowly through the restaurant community. Although the council passed the ordinance almost two years ago, no one applied until this summer.
Then in May, the state Department of Business & Professional Regulation asked the city whether it had adopted a doggie-dining ordinance and how it was being implemented, said Gloria Moreda, the city's land development manager.
The department hadn't received any complaints, Moreda said, but the call prompted the city to distribute copies of the application and procedures to restaurants in Hyde Park, New Tampa, SoHo and Davis Islands.
That's how Rinoldo found out about it. She filled out the application last month and became the first business in the city to receive a dog-dining permit.
She said she understands the need for the strict regulations. She also had to make sure her insurance coverage didn't include an exemption for dog bites.
"We dog people forget he's an animal," said Rinoldo, owner of two great Danes. "In the food industry, people need to remember not everybody is a dog person."
Less happy is Richard Bond, owner of Yeoman's Road Pub, also on Davis Islands. He, too, didn't know about the ordinance until he got the application from the city. He put up a sign at his restaurant saying that because of the "unreasonable nature" of the pet ordinance, the pub would no longer allow pets on the patio.
"There's a money issue. You have to have a sanitary station. It's too much for me to be dog-friendly," Bond said. "When I got it I said, 'Just another thing for the city of Tampa to try to make a couple of extra bucks.'"
The permit costs $120 a year. Maybe that cost can be reduced, said Councilman John Dingfelder, whose district includes Davis Islands. He brought up the issue at a council meeting this month and asked for city staff to report back on ways the permit process can be made easier for restaurants.
MacDinton's Irish Pub & Restaurant on South Howard is the only other business that has applied for the permit, but the city rejected the application for unrelated reasons.
"I'm surprised more restaurants haven't applied," Dingfelder said. "Maybe they don't know or maybe they're concerned about patrons who don't want to eat with their neighbors' dogs."
The issue is scheduled for a council discussion on Sept. 18.
Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.
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