'Yappy Hour' Muzzled
FORT WALTON BEACH - A restaurant's desired return of the dog days of summer has nothing to do with weather.
A special promotion at Tijuana Flats on Eglin Parkway that allowed dog owners to bring their pets to the restaurant and sit on the outdoor patio was canceled last week after the restaurant's owners learned it was against state law to allow dogs at the restaurant.
"We were just very sad," said Jenna Caldwell, who owns Tijuana Flats with Brian Burger. "It's our biggest night and our staff just loves it."
Burger and Caldwell started Yappy Hour on Thursdays last October as a fund-raiser for the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society. The restaurant has donated 5 to 10 percent of the night's sales to PAWS and has collected nearly $2,000 so far.
However, the Okaloosa County Health Department ordered Burger and Caldwell last week to stop the dog-friendly night or risk having the restaurant shut down.
Many people who showed up with their pets Thursday were told the dogs were no longer allowed. PAWS also had planned to sponsor a Happy Tails reunion to bring as many dogs as possible that have been adopted from PAWS to Tijuana Flats on May 22. That event has been postponed.
Caldwell said someone contacted the health department after reading about the program in the Northwest Florida Daily News.
It is against state law to have a dog at a food service establishment unless it is a trained guide dog.
But Burger and Caldwell have not given up on Yappy Hour yet.
The state Legislature last year enacted a three-year pilot program, sometimes called the Doggie Dining Bill, that allows local governments to create an exemption that would allow dogs in certain outside portions of restaurants. Tijuana Flats' owners have contacted the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, PAWS and the city to get Yappy Hour back.
Fort Walton Beach City Councilman Mike Minich has asked city staffers to investigate what it would take to adopt the exemption.
"As long as everything is done properly and in accordance with state law, I have no problem with it," Minich said.
While the Tijuana Flats owners have support to bring Yappy Hour back, it cannot be done quickly, said City Manager Joyce Shanahan.
The city must amend its land development code to allow for the exemption. The Municipal Planning Board must review the proposal and make a recommendation to City Council, which would host two public hearings before it could approve the change.
"It's likely a 60- to 90-day process," Shanahan said.
Tijuana Flats or PAWS must request the amendment to begin the process. Tricia Bryant, PAWS' director of humane services, said her agency would do that.