Bao & Broth is a stall on the first floor of Optimist Hall, the food hall at 1115 North Brevard Street in Optimist Park. The dog rule here belongs to the building, not the stall. Optimist Hall’s FAQ puts it in two sentences: “Your furry friends are welcome to enjoy our outdoor spaces, including the Main Courtyard. Due to health codes, however, any dog that is not a service animal is not permitted inside the food hall.”

The counter is inside. The courtyard is outside. Ordering ramen means someone goes in while someone stays out.

That split is what the North Carolina food code contemplates. 15A NCAC 18A .2656 allows dogs in outdoor dining areas as long as they’re physically restrained and don’t pass through any indoor part of the establishment. Optimist Hall’s version of the rule matches it, and the hall states it in writing rather than leaving it to a manager on shift.

Courtyard seating is first come, first serve, per the same FAQ. The hall publishes nothing about leashes and nothing about water bowls one way or the other, so Mecklenburg County’s restraint ordinance is the rule that applies.

Hall hours as published: 7am to 9pm Monday through Thursday, 7am to 10pm Friday, 8am to 10pm Saturday, 8am to 9pm Sunday. The FAQ notes individual tenant hours vary, and Bao & Broth’s own site is unreadable to our fetcher, so the stall’s specific closing time isn’t confirmed here. Parking runs through a registration program the hall describes as covering the first hour and a half free.

One first-floor detail that’s easy to spot on arrival: Pet Wants, a pet food shop, is a tenant of the hall itself, listed alongside the food stalls on the tenant directory.

Birdsong Brewing’s taproom is about a quarter mile away on North Davidson, where leashed dogs are welcome and a bowl comes on request.