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Dog days dwindling if dining downtown
5/10/2008 12:22 AM   4 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friend

By KAREN DAILY Staff writer
New Moon Cafe employees grab a pencil and scribble "Jake" on an order slip when their frequent customer stops in the downtown restaurant.
But Jake isn't the woman ordering the coffee- Jake is her golden retriever. Two perplexed employees trying to recollect her name laughed thinking they may have never learned it in the first place.
They know Jake.
"We know a lot of our customer's by their dogs," said Cristi Hubbard, senior operations manager for the cafe.
It's not unusual for diners who get up early enough to grab one of the coveted sidewalk tables along Laurens Street to bring their pets with them. While they swallow down cups of coffee, the dogs lap up he bowls of water New Moon keeps filled outside the cafe.
On Saturday there were eight dogs outside waiting with their owners before the restaurant opened, said one waiter at the cafe.
However, New Moon is one of several downtown restaurants recently issued Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) warnings about the pets.
State law prohibits animals from being on the premises, except Seeing Eye dogs and Police or Security K-9s, but not until a recent compliant was reportedly lodged with the state was there any obvious enforcement.
The Westside Bowery owner Sam Erb said he was told someone complained after witnessing a pet owner allow a dog to lick a plate.
Erb said he washes the dishes in accordance with state laws that are already in place by DHEC, and said he is frustrated by the whole situation.
"I'm an independent restaurant owner and the only one I need to answer to is DHEC, and if they say it is the state law then I'm going to comply," he said of the recent warning he received.
Meanwhile the self-proclaimed dog lover, Erb, said he's a little frustrated by the recent shakeup, but concerned the proposed "fix" maybe worse than the problem itself.
When a DHEC representative handed out the warnings, there was talk of possibly designating some pet friendly areas. In those areas the dinnerware would be disposable, and there wouldn't be any waiters working those tables.
"Quite honestly I don't want my customers to have to come in and eat off plastic," he said.
The customer eating in the "animal friendly area" would also have to pick up his or her meal and take it to the table, if changes are implemented.
For the majority of the customers who eat at New Moon, using disposable cups and plates wouldn't be a major upheaval.
"Ninety percent of our service ware is disposable," Hubbard said.
The last thing she said she wants to do is refuse customers.
"We could lose $100-$200 a day," she said.
But, Hubbard has told customers about the regulations, adding, however, that New Moon employees have no plans to aggressively enforce them.
City of Aiken Solicitor Richard Perce said DHEC enforces the ruling, not local law enforcement or any other body.
Proponents of the warnings said allowing dogs in or outside a restaurant should not be allowed, saying it's against the law and it is unsanitary, but other residents have said bringing their pets with them to diner is part of Aiken's charm.
The law has been on the books for more than a decade, having been last amended in 1995, and the penalties imposed on businesses allowing their customers to eat with their animals is still unclear.
Hubbard talked with local and a Columbia-based DHEC official last week. She said she couldn't get a clear answer.
She was told she could lose as many as 5 points during an inspection.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control Food Safety Inspection team assigns grades to each restaurant by numerical score. A sticker identified an A (90 or above), B (80 or above) or C (70 or above) rating.
Without any other violations, a restaurant could still receive an A rating, but Hubbard said she believes the penalty points assigned with subsequent violations may increase drastically.
She said she would welcome a dog friendly area, even if it meant making a few changes.
DHEC offices were closed Friday.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com



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  4 comment(s) on this story

Hallelujah. :  5/10/2008

Where's the risk? :  5/10/2008

The DHEC code states "Live animals, including birds and turtles, shall be excluded from areas where food is stored, prepared, displayed, or served, provided that a location may be approved where, in the opinion of the health authority, no contamination risk exists." The Aiken restaurants allow dogs outside only, right? Don't the dogs walk right through the eating areas anyway since many of them are on public sidewalks? Regardless of how someone feels about a dog licking a plate clean, the restaurants still clean and sanitize them after each use as required by DHEC. There is absolutely no additional health risk by letting a dog sit at your feet outside a restaurant compared by one walking by your table on a public sidewalk. DHEC needs to realize this and lift the ban. The person who complained needs to get a life.

Dog days in Aiken :  5/10/2008

In europe dogs are allowed to go everywhere even into stores. Leave the pets alone. If DHEC really wants to scream. Why dont they regulate the cosmetics displays in stores, where customers come in open containers and rub in on their skin and lips then put it back on the shelf.

:  5/10/2008

I wonder not where the complainer is "from" but how long the complainer has lived in Aiken. Get over it. Dogs have been welcome outside Aiken restaurants for years. We love it. We were transplants 16 years ago. We love Aiken and don't want to see it become a charmless, vanilla, chain-restaurant shadow city to Augusta.

paws for thought
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