Reconsider Legal
Many people are so used to seeing "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" signs posted on businesses that they believe going barefoot in public -- that is, where the public is generally allowed -- is illegal. While individual businesses may set their own rules regarding patrons' conduct, there are NO federal or state laws in the U.S. that ban bare feet in public. Only about a dozen (12) local laws, among the 20,000 ordinance-passing cities, prohibit bare feet. Those few laws address only specific locations like a particular park or arena.
The legality of going barefoot in public extends to restaurant patrons as well. Neither health departments nor the U.S.' Occupational Health and Safety Administration address the attire or conduct of customers.1
There's actually one county in the State of North Carolina that has an ordinance2 protecting bare feet. It actually prohibits persons from depositing on sidewalks or streets anything "likely to injure barefoot persons."
What about driving barefoot? Contrary to popular belief, it is also perfectly legal in all states of the U.S., all Canadian provinces, The United Kingdom and many other territories and countries. The only state in the U.S. that requires shoes while driving is Alabama -- and it's only for motorcycle riders.
1. "Bare Feet and the Health Department," Society for Barefoot Living (Link)
2. The Solid Waste Management Code of Buncombe County, N.C., section 62-30(d)(4).
