Managing Editor Luke Day's dog, Hobbes, sits near the fountain outside of Peanut Barrel. Under current state law, Hobbes would not be allowed to sit at the Peanut Barrel patio. (Luke Day for ELi)

Ask ELi: Are Dogs Allowed on Restaurant Patios?

Warm days of sunshine and adult beverages on East Lansing restaurant patios might be far and few between as we head deep into fall, but ELi readers have asked us why their canine friends are no longer able to join them for those rare moments of patio bliss.

“When did the City of East Lansing change the rules about dogs on outdoor patios?” One reader messaged us. “[Our dog] got turned away from Peanut Barrel. She used to be welcome on the patio. We travel lots with our dog and she’s welcome outside in most cities.”

ELi began its investigation with Mike Krueger, owner of both the Peanut Barrel and Crunchy’s. Krueger purchased the Peanut Barrel in 2023 from its previous owners who had operated it for 43 years. 

Elly Day holds Hobbes outside of the Peanut Barrel patio. (Luke Day for ELi)

Krueger said the rules haven’t actually changed, however a warning about existing law prompted the recent enforcement.

“It was just a casual conversation with an off-duty [Michigan health] inspector who warned us, essentially, that this was frowned on,” he said.

The law is actually Section 6-501.115 of the Michigan Modified Food Code that “restricts the presence of animals in businesses that sell, prepare or serve food.” The only exception is for service animals.

After the conversation with the health inspector, Krueger began looking into having the law changed. 

“I talked to the MLBA [Michigan Licensed Beverage Association] first to find out how they felt about it and whether they would get behind it and then I went ahead and emailed Senator [Sam] Singh and he called me and decided that he wanted to introduce a bill [to put the decision before each individual business],” Krueger told ELi.

Krueger said the past year has been frustrating, as he and his staff informed patrons about the renewed adhering to the old policy.

“We have customers who come and want to sit on the patio at Peanut Barrel, specifically, they want to be able to bring their dog and they used to be able to bring their dog,” he said. “And we have to tell them no and they’re rude to my staff about it or whatever. Or they think the new owner is making all these changes. It’s not really that, it’s that we’re not allowed to do that.”

Krueger said it should be up to the business, and he wants the law to be changed so each establishment can make the choice for themselves.

Singh agrees. He introduced Senate Bill 919 in June, amending the law to allow dogs in outdoor seating areas of restaurants. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Economic and Community Development.

Sen. Sam Singh’s official portrait. (From Michigan Senate Democrats website)

“[Enforcement] really depends on the region of the state,” Singh told ELi in a phone interview. “Some people do it and their health departments don’t enforce that law. I was in Detroit a couple weeks ago and I saw a dog on a patio. I just felt like, why not create a law that would be fair and equitable for everybody? So, that’s why I introduced it [the bill].”

Singh made clear that the legislation wouldn’t require restaurants to allow pets on patios.

“It allows a restaurant [to choose whether or not to allow dogs],” he said. “They have to inform the health department and so forth and so we thought that was a fair compromise. To allow a community to do this, to allow a restaurant to make that choice and then customers can decide if they’re comfortable with that or not.”

Singh was hoping for a hearing on the bill this fall. Krueger would be called on to testify before the committee deliberating the bill’s future.

ELi reached out to the Ingham County Health Department (ICHD) to inquire about their enforcement of the law.

“ICHD follows and enforces the current Michigan Food Code/Law,” Deputy Health Officer Anne Klein Barna said.