Owning a dog café fills a niche, said a part-owner of another dog café in Causeway Bay.
This entrepreneur, who declined to be identified for this article, originally started a tarot café. For convenience's sake she brought her dogs with her to work. They proved a draw. In 2003, she switched her business model to become a dog cafe.
She admits to being ignorant of the law. Hon, however, acknowleges that his café is illegal.
Hong Kong law states that no person shall bring any dog or permit the presence of any dog onto any food premises. Dog cafe owners and customers who bring their dogs to cafes face a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine and three months imprisonment upon conviction.
Doggie sitting quietly in a cafe
But the fine points of the law do not deter customers or operators, Hon saud.
“All upstairs dog café owners are just closing eyes to legal matters,” Hon said, “if my dogs don’t bark, nobody will complain, and we will be rid of troubles." “It wouldn’t work out even if we wanted to get a legal license for our café,” Hon said, “because dogs just aren’t allowed in food premises."
Rhoda, dog cafe regular customer
Not everyone is as sanguine. Rhoda, a regular patron of dog cafés, had no idea that they operate illegally. That worries her.
“if they don’t have a proper license, I might worry a bit about food safety here, she said.
