Chicago’s restaurants could be going to the dogs. 

In these times, there are plenty of heavy matters to ponder, but I must weigh in on this one. 

I love restaurants. I also love dogs, especially when they belong to someone else. If Ald. Timmy Knudsen, 43rd, has his way, man’s best friend could be the guest at the dining table next to you.

Doggone.

Last week, Knudsen introduced an ordinance that would permit restaurants to opt into allowing dogs inside their establishments. Currently, except for service animals, they are banned from indoor spaces at restaurants. 

Restaurants that choose to admit pets would be allowed to serve only water to the animals and must keep them away from where food is prepared, and plates, utensils and surfaces. The dogs have to be on leashes, and their owners must have proof of their rabies vaccination, Block Club reported. 

Only one dog per patron would be allowed, and restaurant employees would not be permitted to pet or touch the dogs while working with food. 

All this would relieve his “heartache,” Chicagoan Josh Iachelli told the Tribune.  

“When Josh Iachelli heads out the door to eat near his home, his two miniature golden retrievers, Chad and Derek, sit and stare,” the Tribune reported. “It’s a heartache Iachelli might soon get to avoid as aldermen weigh a proposal to let restaurants and cafes welcome dogs.”

“Pet lovers feel guilty leaving their dogs at home,” Iachelli, who co-owns several Chicago restaurants, told the Tribune. “If you have a pet, you want to be able to have those guys with you more hours of the day.”

Poor baby.

Customers should be able to bring their dogs inside when they pick up their coffee and baked goods from Vanille Patisserie in Lincoln Park, owner Sophie Evanoff told ABC Chicago affiliate WLS-Ch. 7. “They’re not harming anybody,” she said. “I understand there’s allergies, but it should be allowed at the business owner’s discretion.”

You understand that people have allergies? Oh well, just let us suffer. You don’t really need those customers, right? You would rather have their dogs.    

Scott Stantis editorial cartoon for Wed, Oct 1, 2025, on dogs in restaurants. (Scott Stantis/For the Chicago Tribune)

The Illinois Restaurant Association says struggling neighborhood restaurants do need that business, and it supports the idea.  

“Most restaurant owners know the customers so they know this could help their bottom line,” association President and CEO Sam Toia told ABC 7. “This is a business of pennies and nickels, so if they can bring in more, that’s good for our hospitality industry.”

Knudsen has stressed that if it passes, the ordinance would not mandate dog access, but leave it up to individual restaurants’ owners to opt in. The Tribune Editorial Board said it approved of letting the dogs in, but what about the restaurant’s patrons?

It’s no accident that this proposal comes from an alderman who represents Lincoln Park and the Gold Coast, among the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. 

In this Trumpian, overprivileged era, everyone wants their own way, and they want it now.

Dogs belong on the sidewalk, on the street, in the grass. Not under my feet at a dining table. Not panting for scraps in the aisle.

Dogs already have the reign of our streets and parks. When I stroll through my pet-heavy neighborhood, I am forced to maneuver a collision course of dog owners, their heads buried in their phones, oblivious as their long-leashed pets wander into my path to sniff and growl.

I have watched people traipse into grocery stores, pets in tow. Dogs are already annoyingly underfoot at outdoor cafes. And trust me — these are not all “service dogs.” They are spoiled pups toted by their entitled owners.

I don’t want to sit in a restaurant next to a slobbering, smelly canine. Who picks up the you-know-what? Who wipes down the doggie residue? 

Do the supporters of this plan really think that busy restaurant staff will have the time to police dogs? Post-COVID-19, the industry has been besieged by staff shortages, higher wages and skyrocketing food costs. Now, we are going to ask them to dog-sit too?

I predict that this proposal will go nowhere. But if the City Council does sign off on this wrongheaded idea, the restaurants that opt in will lose more patrons than they gain. 

Diners are getting fed up with all the burdens of shrinking portions and rising menu prices and optional service charges. We are being penny-and-nickeled into the poorhouse. 

On the way there, the powers that be want us to dine with poodles, schnauzers, pit bulls and shepherds. 

Fido may be unceasingly sweet, lovable and loyal. He is also an animal. He doesn’t belong in a restaurant, yapping and slobbering at the next table. 

Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Wednesday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/01/column-chicago-dogs-allowed-restaurants-washington/