City panel says no to outdoor hot dog sales downtown

COEUR d’ALENE — Keep them dogs indoors, at least at night.

The city’s General Services Committee on Monday denied a bar owner’s request to grill hot dogs in front of his business into the wee hours of the morning, saying the timing on the sidewalk request just didn’t seem right.

And it could be a safety issue.

“I think we would be opening a can of worms,” said Ron Edinger, committee member and councilman, on the potential problems that could come in light of policy changes the City Council recently adopted.

“It’s the congestion,” agreed Jon Bruning, fellow committee and council member, “It would be counter productive.”

Dave Pulis, co-owner of the Moose Lounge and Market on Sherman Avenue, requested the city change its mobile food concession ordinance, which limits sidewalks sales from sunrise to sunset, to allow businesses to keep grilling until 2 a.m.

A week ago, the City Council adopted several new policies pertaining to its food and alcoholic beverage service areas on public sidewalks that limited food and drinks service outside, including reducing outdoor seating by an hour.

Selling hot dogs could be a nice way to recoup some of that lost revenue, Pulis said, since people enjoy being outdoors during the summer and restaurants and bars rely on the summer season for a lot of their business.

“They eat at 10 o’clock until 3 o’clock,” he said of late night patrons, estimating that 70 percent of that selling would come after dark. “Wherever they can get food downtown.”

But the committee denied the request, keeping it from going to City Council for debate.

They said it could be a safety issue as far the number of people eating there, and that would run counter to City Council’s recent actions that targeted keeping outdoor congestion to a minimum.

It pointed to Boise as a possible example.

Boise allows vendors to sell only in certain designated areas until 3 or 5 a.m., according to Boise City Attorney Matt Wilde, but their police department has expresses interest in shutting the vendors down earlier due to the congestion and calls for service required there.

Pulis’ proposal would have been a city-wide ordinance, and requested that only downtown businesses utilize downtown sidewalks for the service.

“I’m disappointed that Coeur d’Alene feels its citizens who come downtown aren’t responsible enough to have a hot dog stand after dark,” Pulis said. “A lot of people enjoy downtown, but a few bad apples spoil it for the thousands who use it responsibly.”