In case you missed recent City headlines, I introduced an ordinance giving food-retail establishments the option (but not the requirement) to permit dogs. This puts more decision-making power in the hands of business owners, and if they opt-in as “dog-friendly” they are held to heightened sanitation standards and rules, including:
- Clear signage indicating ‘dog-friendly’ status
- Limit of one dog per patron
- Leash requirement
- Vaccination requirement
- No feeding or contact with restaurant staff

This idea started when Sophie Evanoff (owner of Vanille Bakery in the 43rd Ward) reached out after inspectors cited her for letting a customer bring in their dog. Not only did these inspections take hours from a great small-business owner, but they made her realize she could not serve an important customer base - dog-walking residents. After brainstorming a resolution with Sophie, I reached out to other leading food industry experts for heightened discussion, ultimately landing on this ordinance which gives increased autonomy to local business owners.

In drafting, we worked with the Chicago Departments of Public Health and Business Affairs & Consumer Protection on language to ensure the comfort and sanitation of all Chicago diners. As Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia noted to WBEZ, “before the pandemic, the restaurant industry was an industry of nickels and dimes. Now, it’s an industry of pennies and nickels. Ald. Knudsen’s Dog-Friendly Business Ordinance supports restaurants by giving them the option to open their doors to a potentially powerful customer base.”
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