Hong Kong restaurants spend to welcome furry diners under pet-friendly scheme

Pet strollers, partitions and pre-dining briefings for customers are among the measures Hong Kong restaurants are taking ahead of the launch of a scheme allowing dogs into eateries next week. Dim sum restaurant Old Fung Tea House, with six outlets across the city, is among 833 eateries that will allow dogs to enter starting on Thursday under a policy by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department aimed at developing the pet economy. Owner Fung Man-kit said he invested about HK$10,000 (US$1,275) in preparing for the new service, which will be on a reservation-only basis as recommended by the department. He was using a HK$3,000 air purifier and six partitions that cost about HK$5,000 in total to set up four tables for pets at his Mong Kok branch, the only one suitable for the scheme. The restaurant will also provide three pet strollers – each costing about HK$400 – and cleaning products, as well as a separate rubbish bin for pet waste in preparation for the roll-out. Pet owners had expressed strong interest in dining with their furry companions, Fung said, adding that spots for the weekend were quickly filling up. When pet owners called to make a reservation, staff informed them about the rules and noted the number and breed of dogs they planned to bring, he said. In line with the department’s recommendations, each customer is allowed to bring a maximum of two dogs, and they must be placed in strollers when inside the restaurant. “We restrict all diners to a 90-minute dining time, but for groups with pets, we will limit them to 75 minutes as we estimate 10 to 15 minutes for cleaning between each group,” he said. Fung estimated a 15 per cent uptick in business, given the enthusiastic response from pet owners, adding that his investment was for the long term as he believed demand would remain strong. Staff had also been trained on how to wait tables with pets, including avoiding serving food right in front of the animals, and minimising contact to avoid provocation, he added. A HK$100 fee would be imposed if owners did not clean up after their pets, he said. As the restaurant was split into two sections and separated by a corridor, customers afraid of dogs would be seated far away from them, in the area closer to the kitchen, he added. “At the end of the day, food safety and hygiene are the most important to us,” he said. “That is why we want to do everything to prepare fully.” Leslie Ng, owner of the Trinity Dumpling Bar, which has branches in Central and Mong Kok, said all customers would be briefed by staff on the dog-friendly policy at the entrance, regardless of whether they had pets. While he did not strictly enforce reservations, he recommended that pet owners give him a heads-up before they arrived so he could make arrangements. Ng said he spent about HK$2,000 on pet strollers, wall hooks and disinfectants, and planned to make the four tables nearest to the entrance animal-friendly. As a pet owner, Ng said he did not think offering the service was a “highly profitable venture”, but he believed it would inject some novelty into the business. He planned to sell potty pads for HK$2 to owners who had forgotten to bring their own and had also prepared guidelines for his staff on handling accidents. While diners would be told about the rules, Ng said he might consider requiring pet owners to sign a consent form detailing liability in the future, in case conflicts arose. Among the 1,000 restaurants that won the department’s ballot, 50 were bars, including 14 outlets of the Bar Pacific chain. Chin Chun-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association, said he believed that the pet economy would bump up business by 10 to 20 per cent for bars with the licence, bringing “new hope” for the industry. “The new scheme is very innovative, in line with the greater trend and can help small and medium businesses try something new,” he said. He dismissed concerns that bars could be loud or rowdy environments for pets, or that tipsy owners would become irresponsible. “Owners who bring their pets to bars should be responsible enough to care for them and not get too drunk,” he said. As cleaning fees for bars were standard for the industry, the same fees could easily be extended to pets, Chin said. He said the bars were “fully prepared” to welcome dogs, and he believed the industry would gain more experience on how to handle canine companions as restaurants adapted.

Hong Kong restaurants spend to welcome furry diners under pet-friendly scheme

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Owners have prepared special sections complete with pet strollers and trained staff on how to serve tables with dogs ahead of launch on July 9

Owners have prepared special sections complete with pet strollers and trained staff on how to serve tables with dogs ahead of launch on July 9