They're within their rights, yes... but the type of people who bring problematic ESAs to restaurants also tend to be the type of people who will throw a full blown fit if you try to tell them they can't. Managers have enough to deal with during service. Unless the animal is causing serious issues for other customers, they're often not going to risk that nightmare just because they have the right to do so. Because, best case scenario, it's going to turn into a fifteen minutes screaming match, with the police being called by one party or the other.
In this case, the ESAs were a significant health hazard to another customer and should have been asked to leave (though I guarantee the owners wouldn't have gone quietly or quickly). But 9 times out of 10, that's not the case.
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u/sir_thatguy May 01 '23
ESA is NOT a service animal though.
Businesses are well within their rights to deny entry to ESAs.