Hair of the dog? No problem. Breweries and tap houses open doors to pooches

You and a buddy are waiting in line to order a draft beer in an open-air building the size and shape of a biplane hangar. Though there are style-bending options posted on the chalkboard menu, you commit to the familiar North Coast Brother Thelonious, named after Thelonious Monk.

As you and your friend discuss the recent surge of redevelopment in Sacramento’s core, you feel it: a solid bump against your left shin. And then another a little harder, without the genial syncopation of Monk playing the keyboard. Look down. It’s a stout, 90-pound Labrador retriever getting to know a neighboring, long-haired golden retriever. They are performing the dog handshake, sniffing each other’s rear ends. The dogs are on leashes, and their respective owners say nothing in the way of an apology.

And that’s when it hits you. Dogs are very welcome at SacYard Community Tap House on 33rd Street.

Then you notice the two young pitbulls under a picnic table at the main point of entry, like a pair of Wal-mart greeters. On the wall is a large charcoal drawing titled “Sunday,” depicting a seated, setter-seeming dog holding a tennis ball in its maw.

It’s just another Sunday, with humans and canines sharing space comfortably at SacYard.

Though there are plenty of places to go out for food and drink in Sacramento with your pooches, in most cases they are required by law to stay outside on a patio. But the rules for restaurants do not apply to venues like taprooms. SacYard co-owner Melody Thebeau said, “The dogs come in and out. We don’t have a kitchen. So basically, it’s very similar to a brewery (though SacYard does not brew its own beer) … It’s not a restaurant; we have food trucks here, but there is no cooking at this facility.”

The pooches’ presence can be confusing. Dogs are common on patios throughout Sacramento. That they’re seemingly everywhere at SacYard is just a natural extension of existing laws over breweries, said Sacramento County Environmental Health Division Chief Kelly McCoy in a recent email.

“What may be confusing to the public sometimes is that they see dogs inside breweries,” McCoy said. “Breweries that … do not have a kitchen are not regulated by the health department, although they can have permitted food trucks offering food to their customers. Since they are exempted from the health code, they can allow pet dogs anywhere. Some breweries have a full kitchen and are regulated by Sacramento County EMD, therefore pet dogs must only be on the patio, unless it is a service animal.”

Alaro Craft Brewery, Camellia Coffees offer patios

One such brewery with a Spain-inspired kitchen is Alaro Craft Brewery at Capitol Avenue and 20th Street. Head Brewer Chris Keeton described the spot’s staff as dog-possessing dog lovers, and he was eager to talk about his own 11-year-old black Lab/German Shepard mix, named Dylan, that he picked up from a no-kill animal shelter in New Mexico.

Though he highlighted Alaro’s public house mentality, and how much fun customers have bringing their dogs to the patio, he made it clear that dogs were not permitted inside the building. Alaro offers a street-side, fenced-in patio with torch warming heaters and five picnic tables, where dogs are free to nap, sit, or sniff without fear of breaking the law.

Similar patio-only situations exist at venues like OBO’ restaurant, where you might see a greyish-black, hyena-like dog taking in some sun on top of the concrete barrier that separates the patio from the sidewalk, or at Camellia Coffees, which shares a pier-esque patio with Fish Face Poke Bar outside the Warehouse Artist Lofts, where there may be a wolfish dog with silvery eyes interacting with human patrons.

Camellia co-owner Ryan Harden said a Front Street Animal Shelter program gets shelter dogs to local food-and-drink patios to catalyze potential adoption.

Shelter spokesperson Ryan Hinderman said patio events at spots like Capitol Garage and New Helvetia brewing are a win-win.

“It draws more customers to the business. Sometimes animals are adopted, otherwise it’s good exposure for the shelter,” Hinderman said.

He noted adoptions typically finalize at the shelter, where application paperwork includes an interesting multiple-choice inquiry for potential adopters. Do you consider your household environment to be like a library, a carnival, or somewhere in the middle.

With cornhole, music shows, and table tennis all part of the experience at SacYard, a dog living there would be in for something verging on a carnival.

This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 4:00 AM.