At La Bella Vita, Dogs Are Having Their Day

ORLEANS – La Bella Vita has gone to the dogs, or at least a portion of it.

The board of health on April 18 unanimously approved a variance allowing the restaurant, located on Academy Place across from Veterans Memorial Park, to provide pet-friendly seating outside on its front patio.

Health department regulations explicitly prohibit live animals from being on the premises of any food establishment in town, Health Agent Alex Fitch told the board.

“The health department can definitely say that dogs at restaurants is an increasingly common complaint,” she said. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding about when dogs can be at a restaurant and when they can’t.”

But the board’s 4-0 vote was precedent setting, as the variance was the first approved by the board overriding the regulations.

Mike DiSabato and Chuck Konner, co-owners of La Bella Vita, said that five tables on the patio and an abutting fire pit area will be designated as pet-friendly. Patrons without pets will still be able to be seated in the area if they choose, he said.

DiSabato told the board that restaurant staff have had to deny patrons with dogs entry in the past, which he said has on occasion “created some angry customers.” But he said there are people who visit Orleans who also need their pets accommodated.

“They’re day trippers, they’re bringing their animals and now they can’t eat anywhere,” he said. “So we’re hoping to create an area [where they] can.”

The owners submitted an 18-point checklist to the health board that they plan to use to help govern pet-friendly seating, DiSabato said, noting that the city of Boston has also issued variances to restaurants allowing for pets.

The restaurant plans to post signage in the designated pet-friendly area, while hoses, scoopers and other means of cleaning up after pets will be on hand. Staff will also be trained on how to handle patrons who bring their pets.

“We’ll have everything ready, and we’ll just make sure the employees know,” Konner said. “It’s like any other procedure.”

“I think once people hear about it we’re going to see a bunch of these,” board chair Joe Hartung said.

But while the board’s vote potentially opens the door for other businesses to follow with similar variances, Kelly Messier, the town’s assistant health agent, said the board and the health department are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to pets in restaurants. She said trends can come and go, and health officials don’t want to put too much emphasis on one application.

“This is all very nebulous,” she said when reached by phone last week. “Is this going to become popular? We don’t know.”

Messier said the process of creating new regulations is lengthy and something that the board of health and the health department don’t normally undertake unless there’s a demonstrated need for it. Short of that, she said the health department can craft new policies at the board’s direction that are easier to put together.

For now, the board asked that La Bella Vita come back after the upcoming summer season to update members on how the allowance of pets on the patio worked out. Messier said if the demand to allow pets in businesses grows steadily, the board might consider discussing next steps.

“In the health department, our policy is always that we want business owners to succeed,” she said. “So if someone wants to apply to the board [for a variance], we’ll do that on a case-by-case basis. If it turns into a lot, we’ll have another discussion about, ‘Will there be a policy? Will there be a regulation?’ We’ll come up with a plan.”

DiSabato said the restaurant hopes to establish its pet-friendly area “as soon as possible,” adding that it will be before the start of the summer season.

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com