A restaurant in Australia that has banned children say they’re more busy than ever since making the decision.
Children in restaurants, perhaps the most divisive issue there is when it comes to dining out. We’ve had debates sparked by Grant Achatz with the infamous Alinea Baby, more recently we had a restaurant owner openly shout at a toddler that was crying in her diner - a post that sparked one of the biggest conversations we’ve seen on the Fine Dining Lovers Facebook page.
Many say it depends on the parenting style, some say it depends on the child, others say it’s all about the type of restaurant you’re dining in. Some go as far as to say children should not be allowed in restaurants at all.
The last suggestion seems like an extreme stance but it’s actually a model being adopted by some restaurants and they say it’s working. In 2014 we highlighted a restaurant in California that had banned babies in their dining room but Flynn’s restaurant in Queensland, operated by Liam Flynn, has banned all children under the age of seven.
Flynn says the decision came after an abrupt conversation with a couple after he asked them to take a crying two-year-old out of the restaurant to calm down. After thinking more about that incident he eventually decided to ban all children.
He took to Facebook and posted this: “The feedback from our diners regarding screaming babies have been nothing but wholly negative and in the interest of their wishes we have decided to introduce this policy and it will stand.
“If one pays money for having an enjoyable lunch during an anniversary or honeymoon, please do yourself and other patrons a favour by getting a babysitter or by removing the screaming baby from the room. It is purely out of respect for other diners, regardless whether they are two or twenty of them in the restaurant. Those are basic social skills and we do not feel that we should be teaching parents how to handle their children”.
Flynn says that, just a few weeks after announcing the ban, the restaurant has had its best weekend’s trade in 14 years of business.
““Business is booming”, he told Business Insider, “We just had record Friday and Saturday nights. People are spending up large, drinking fine wine and spending up big.
“It’s obviously touched a nerve and obviously a polarising subject. We’ve had mums and parents who feel that it’s just outright discrimination, but it’s mostly been positive. I’ve had a lot of support and we’ve had a lot of parents coming forward and ringing me and saying good on you.”
It would seem from online reviews that many people are happy with the decision but the increased business may just be down to the increased exposure the restaurant recieved because of the ban. What do you think? A good idea, would you go to a place that banned children?
Whatever you think, it's got to be better than shouting at the actual child like this woman did.
