Houlihan's in Algonquin Turns Away Veteran With Service Dog Over Memorial Day Weekend

Photo credit: Laura Wills’ post on Houlihan’s Algonquin Facebook page

Houlihan’s in Algonquin is facing plenty of backlash after the restaurant turned away an army veteran and his service dog over Memorial Day weekend.

Laura Wills of Huntley said she tried to take her son, an army veteran, out to lunch at Houlihan’s on Sunday with his service dog when a hostess at the restaurant told them they did not allow dogs, according to a post by Wills on the Houlihan’s Facebook page.

“My son replied that his dog was a service dog at which time the hostess went and got the manager. The manager also refused to let the dog in and asked what kind of service he provided,” according to the Facebook post.

Army veteran Garrett Loughran of Huntley uses his service dog, Hershey, a labradoodle, to help deal with his post-traumatic stress disorder, according to WGN TV. By law, the service dog is supposed to be able to accompany Garrett wherever he goes “no questions asked,” according to the article.

“I expected that by this day and age that everybody knows what service dogs are and they should be more accepting of veterans like me who have to have a service dog to acclimate themselves to this new world again,” Garrett told WGN TV.

Garrett, his mother, and Hershey ended up leaving Houlihan’s after the encounter and going to Village Vintner in Algonquin where they were simply asked if Hershey was a service dog and then seated.

Houlihan’s in Algonquin has since issued an apology to Wills and her son, who served nine years in the army, including three tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. And the manager who turned the group away has been fired, according to WGN TV.

Houlihan’s issued the following apology on its Facebook page:

All, thank you for bringing to our attention the situation with the Veteran and his service dog that visited us yesterday. What a terrible way for all of us to start off our Memorial Day. Our former manager’s interaction with this Veteran and his mom lacked the respect, compassion and hospitality we expect all our employees to deliver with any and every guest walking through our doors. The poor reception given to him caused him to leave and take his business elsewhere. We are not proud of such a low moment, and we’d like all of you to know this is NOT representative of the kind of company Houlihan’s is, or the values we have and share as its employees.

To be perfectly clear: Houlihan’s supports and appreciates all veterans and the sacrifices they have made and continue to make for this country. We have and will always allow service dogs in our restaurants. We sincerely regret that Mrs. Wills and her son had such a poor reception inside our doors yesterday; and we have taken the necessary steps to make sure our guests with service animals feel welcomed.

Despite the apology, plenty of people continue to express their outrage over the incident through posts on the Houlihan’s Facebook page.

Many said they will never visit Houlihan’s again and others said the apology was too little too late. Still others said the company is doing its best to rectify the situation and took the proper actions. (You can read through all of the comments -- and make your own comments -- on the Houlihan’s Algonquin Facebook page).

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