Pet Dogs Now Allowed On Restaurant Patios In Nova Scotia
HALIFAX—Pet dogs will now be allowed on restaurant, bar, and café patios in Nova Scotia.
The provincial government announced today that, as of March 30, businesses will have the option to allow pet dogs into their outdoor eating spaces.
Brightwood Brewery owner Ian Lawson said he is “incredibly excited” about the news.
He said the move will “really help a lot of businesses that could use some extra revenue” by helping them attract even more customers to outdoor eating spaces.
“This just opens us up to having so many more customers come in. You know, you’re out for a walk with your dog and you can just pop in and enjoy a patio,” Lawson told Huddle in a phone interview.
Gordon Steward, the executive director of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, said in a media release that RANS research shows restaurants that allow dogs see a five percent increase in sales.
“Many dog owners are more likely to linger on their favourite patio, and order food or another beverage, if their dog can stay with them. It’s good for our industry and good for customers,” Stewart said.
The new rules will reverse a government policy about pets on patios that caused controversy in Halifax in 2019.
Brightwood was one of several businesses forced to ban pooches from their patios that year after an anonymous complaint prompted health inspectors to hand out warnings across the city.
At the time, letting dogs on patios was technically against the province’s health code, however, several businesses had been doing it for years.
After they were forced to stop, Brightwood started a petition to make the practice legal.
Momentum on the petition had slowed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic (“it would just come off as extremely tone deaf to dry to get this done during that time,” Lawson explained), but Premier Iain Rankin made the issue on of his campaign promises.
“We’ve listened to the restaurant industry. They told us this change will help them attract more dog owners who want to enjoy a leisurely meal or a beverage and be able to do so without having to leave their dogs at home,” Rankin said in a news release. “The new rules will still protect food safety and allow restaurants to offer this option if that’s what their customers want.”
The new rules come into effect today, March 30, and give individual business owners the right to decide whether to allow pet dogs, limit the number of dogs, or ask a customer to remove their dog if it’s misbehaving.
Restaurant owners who allow dogs must also follow food safety guidelines that include banning dogs from the inside of their restaurants, banning them from eating from the table, and posting signs so potential customers are aware before they sit.
Whatever the specifics of the rules, Lawson says the policy change will make a big difference in his business this summer.
He said being a dog-friendly space is a “huge part” of Brightwood’s business model and that he’s already changing some of his summer plans.
Last summer, he perused specific permits for Brightwood’s waterfront beer garden that only allowed him to serve their own products, specifically so they would be allowed to have dogs there.
The new rules mean he can go after a different permit that will allow him to serve food from outside establishments as well, giving much more options to his customers.
“This was the right choice,” Lawson said. “A lot of businesses are going to be very happy about it.”