For Conan Robinson, owner of
Four Quarter Bar, it’s all about
understanding the neighborhood.
“Being a neighborhood bar, you want to be
able to cater to the people who live in your
neighborhood,” Robinson said.
Four Quarter Bar offers late-night drinks,
food and music in the Argenta Arts District
of North Little Rock, an area that has been
time, people will go on a nice walk with their
dog during the day,” Robinson said. “They stop
by for a drink, and I’m okay with that. We’ve got
a patio out back, and a lot of people take their
dog out to the patio.”
Sarah Bolanos, Manager and Owner of
La Terraza Rum and Lounge, shares similar
sentiments. La Terraza is family-owned by two
generations, offering Venezuelan and Spanish
Rock. “We’re very family friendly in general,
and for a lot of people, that includes their
pet,” Bolanos said. “We don’t want people to
feel discouraged in any way. We have toys on
the patio for a reason. We want people to know
very much believes in always being together as
a family. You take your kids everywhere and
anywhere with you and they may be out until 10
o’clock asleep in a booth, or later.”
La Terraza offers multi-level patio seating,
with an entrance to the street, and Bolanos
found that offering pet-friendly seating was
is a very walkable neighborhood and almost
everybody has a dog,” Bolanos said. “Plus, we’re
pet lovers, so we wanted to have that option.”
Bolanos considers La Terraza to be pet
friendly in general. “ I don’t think that if
somebody wanted to walk their cat, we would
turn them away,” she said. “It’s just not typical.”
But they also have a contest just for the pups
— a Patio Pooch Mascot Contest that takes
place every year during Harvestfest. Anyone
who brings their dog to La Terraza and takes
a photo on the patio is eligible. The photo is
used year-round to promote the space as pet
friendly, and the winner can take home a whole
pig leg bone every month for the entire year.
“People still don’t know that we are pet friendly
and we’re still trying to get that word out there,”
said Bolanos.
And while the atmosphere for both Four
both Robinson and Bolanos look for manners
in their four-legged guests — preferably no
barking, jumping or roaming. “That’s not really
conducive to other patrons dining,” Bolanos
said. “I think the biggest thing is a pet that is
love friendly dogs. We love
to pet them and say hi to
them and if someone wants
to say hi to your dog too,
we would never discourage
that in any way. It’s kind of
the same thing as children.
We try not to let anyone
run around, tripping over people because it’s
not conducive to a welcoming environment.”
Robinson also asks that patrons consider
the time of day and whether there are going
to be people dancing, any loud music or a lot
to a restaurant,” Robinson shared. “If you
have children who misbehave and you know
it’s going to be a super tedious task, most of
the time you’re not going to go out with our
kids to a packed restaurant. Same with dogs.
The majority of people who bring their dogs
in know they’re going to be well behaved. I like
seeing it. I like giving them a bowl of water,
a treat here and there. It helps foster that
neighborhood atmosphere. When you have a
good neighborhood bar, you want to be able to
bring your best friend with you, even if that’s an
animal or a dog.”
16
By Kaitlin Schmidt BE A LOCALIST.
Dining in Little Rock with your Furry Bestie
- Elizabeth Silverstein
...offering pet-friendly
seating was a natural fit
for the neighborhood. { {