Hillstone, the restaurant formerly known as Houston’s, has instituted a policy change that goes beyond its name, and it’s a policy change that has put the popular restaurant’s managers in the doghouse, as far as some longtime guests are concerned.

The lakefront restaurant previously welcomed dogs on its outdoor patio. But a few days ago, without much advance warning, the policy changed. Dogs are no longer allowed at the restaurant.

General manager Todd Martin said, “We’ve been having a lot more dogs on the property and a lot more complaints” from guests who weren’t comfortable having dogs around. He said there was no particular incident — no one was bitten and no doggie doo-doo done within sight of diners. He couldn’t say how many complaints the restaurant had received, but just said there had been complaints from some people — cat lovers, I’m guessing.

So, I wonder how many complaints need to come in from people who are disappointed they can no longer take their dogs to Hillstone?

What do you think? Will you be more likely to visit Hillstone now that they’ve instituted a no dog policy, or will you boycott the restaurant for the canine cause?

By the way, here is a list of some restaurants I recommend that accept dogs on their patios.

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