We have all been in the situation where we are out to eat a nice meal and suddenly, it is interrupted by a child nearby. It doesn’t matter if they are screaming, crying or doing anything else to interrupt our good time, it is something that is difficult to ignore. Most of us tend to blame the parents for this issue but the children also share a degree of the blame as well.
You may also be in a situation where it is your child making the scene and it is difficult to swallow. They typically start to do it when the food hits the table and by that point, you’re just trying to eat as quickly as you can so that you can make a mad dash for the door.
You realize that it is disturbing others but you also want to have a good time and relax a little bit yourself. The only thing that you are probably hoping at that point is that it doesn’t get any worse before you are able to make your exit.
It seems as if there is now a restaurant in California that wants to handle the issue in a most unusual way. In fact, it has created a significant amount of controversy in the process. The restaurant, located in Monterey, is Old Fisherman’s Grotto. According to their policy, no highchairs, booster seats or even strollers are to be found inside of the restaurant!
The restaurant even goes further by saying that any children who are making loud noises or crying are simply not permitted in the doors in the first place. It isn’t like this is a hidden rule either. There is a clear sign that posted this controversial decision right up front so that everyone can see it.
According to a statement by the restaurant, they haven’t refused anyone who has children but the sign is posted due to their policy. That policy is also found on their website and in many cases, it keeps families that have young children from dining at their establishment.
The information on their website states that the rule was established in 2009. No high chairs or strollers are permitted in the building because it makes it difficult for the servers to do their job.
They adopted the additional children’s policy in 2011 because they wanted to “enhance the dining experience for guests.” They recognize that some people want a place to eat on fisherman’s wharf that is quiet and doesn’t even have the possibility of being interrupted by children.
Of course, they will allow families as well as children every day. The only thing that they ask is that the rules are followed very closely.
As you can imagine, this policy has made quite a stir and there seem to be people on both sides of the issue. Some feel that it is a real triumph for those who want a quiet dinner in a distraction-free atmosphere. Others call it discrimination.
One Twitter user, Gail Browning, was all in favor of the policy, despite the fact that she has children of her own. Even she admits that there are many times when a restaurant meal is interrupted by “screaming/whining/crying brats whose ignorant parents don’t control them.”
Kudos to Old Fisherman’s Grotto for their policy regarding children. I’ve lost track of the # of times our dinner has been ruined by screaming/whining/crying brats whose ignorant parents don’t control them. If you cannot afford a babysitter for the rugrats, stay the hell at home. https://t.co/B0FUSWmdLK
— Gayle MAGAveteran❌??? (@TeamMomScooter) May 16, 2018
Someone else fired back, calling the policy “blatantly discriminatory” and saying she wouldn’t give the restaurant her business because of the policy. She also wrote the following:
“We didn’t bother giving them a try after seeing their sign about no strollers and no loud kids. This is crazy, I’ve never seen something so blatantly discriminatory.”
Chris Shake is very firm on this policy. He said that it’s been good for business, even though there has been some public outcry from those who don’t agree with it. He sums it up, saying the following:
“We have many families who dine with us with their children who are well behaved and understand our policy with respect to other diners.” “What we have found on those who write negative reviews about our policy are those who have not dined here but become offended by the sign and our policy.”