Can a restaurant discriminate on who should or shouldn’t come in to eat or ban children like what the Nettie’s House of Spaghetti in Tinton Falls, New Jersey did?
Well, the New Jersey restaurant will be banning children under the age of 10 to dine inside the restaurant. With the ban comes both indignation and praise from netizens coming from different social media platforms.
Nettie’s House of Spaghetti in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, stated in a Feb. 9 post on their social media platforms that they “will no longer allow children under 10 to dine in the restaurant.”
Such a decision was made because “it’s been extremely challenging to accommodate children” at the locale, people manning the restaurant said.
New Jersey Restaurant explains
“We love kids. We really, truly, do,” Nettie’s post began, adding that “between noise levels, lack of space for high chairs, cleaning up crazy messes, and the liability of kids running around the restaurant, we have decided that it’s time to take control of the situation.”
Nettie’s House of Spaghetti stated that the decision wasn’t made lightly, “but some recent events have pushed us to implement this new policy.”
The ban at the New Jersey restaurant will take effect effective March 8.
“We know that this is going to make some of you very upset, especially those of you with very well-behaved kids, but we believe this is the right decision for our business moving forward,” the statement concluded. “Thank you for understanding.”
The comments section on Nettie’s Instagram and Facebook were filled with mixed reactions from customers and followers. Among the comments were:
“I love this decision. Nothing frustrates me more as a single working mom than when I get the rare chance to go out (with adults and not children and not to an Applebees or kid-friendly restaurant) and there are kids not only acting up but parents completely oblivious to it and not even trying to discipline their children…..I applaud this decision and cannot wait to come to dine there!”
Linen
“Can’t help feeling this will backfire spectacularly. (No I don’t have a kid under 10). The finest restaurants in NYC can accommodate kids but Netties can’t? Seems like the trouble is your patrons, not the kids.”
thismomslife
“You realize all the parents who dined with you now are expected to spend additional money for a sitter……You own a restaurant, you should expect kids to be dining there. Will you be checking birth certificates at the door? My 8-year-old is the size of an 11-year-old.”
Not the first ban
In 2021, California restaurant Red Rooster Burgers & Brew banned patrons under 18 from dining without an adult citing bad behavior from teens that had caused damage.
In 2018, Old Fisherman’s Grotto, in Monterey, California, also drew attention for its policy of not allowing “crying children” or kids making “loud noises.” It has also had a “no stroller” policy since 2009, which according to the restaurant was for the “safety of our staff and guests.”
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