A North Carolina restaurant has put a ban on unruly children, with a sign on the front door saying screaming children will not be tolerated.
Brenda Armes, the owner of the Olde Salty’s restaurant in Carolina Beach, said she got sick of customers complaining about parents who couldn’t control their children during meals.
She said many parents allowed their children to treat the restaurant like their personal playground, misbehaving and ‘squawking’.
And the policy seems to be working, with business booming at the restaurant.
Mrs Armes said: ‘It has been a good thing for us. It has brought us in more customers than it has ever kept away.’
The new rule has had a mixed reception with diners.
Gary Gibson, who was visiting Olde Salty for the first time, said: ‘It’s not very enjoyable when you hear a bunch of kids screaming. It’s nice to see a sign like that up.’
But Ashley Helfin, a mother of two, said: ‘I’ve never seen a restaurant say, don’t bring your screaming kids in here. You can’t help it if your kids scream.’
But Mrs Armes disagreed, and said her ‘no brats’ policy was here to stay.
She said: ‘We want to attract the type of people that come in knowing they aren’t going to have to sit behind a table with a bunch of screaming children.’
This post has been commented 4 times
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September 10th, 2010 at 10:09 amJay Alden says:
Fantastic. I am sick and tired of meals out being ruined by people who either can’t control their offspring or can’t be bothered to try. Wish more restaurants did this.
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January 25th, 2011 at 4:44 pmJackie says:
Brilliant! I know you cannot control when a baby/toddler wants to scream – but take the child outside! Don’t spoil it for EVERYONE ELSE, it’s not fair on other paying customers. Many parents just ignore the child and allow it to spoil everyone else’s enjoyment. I just wish more places adopted this policy.
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January 25th, 2011 at 6:10 pmTweets that mention Restaurant that has banned screaming children says business is better than ever « FMWF -- Topsy.com says:
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Debra Vaarsi and Ryan, Jackie . Jackie said: Restaurant that banned screaming children says business is better than ever http://bit.ly/hePCzC <-Wish more places adopted this #childfree [...]
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January 25th, 2011 at 6:29 pmbootsy says:
this is great! i think even people who have kids can appreciate a civilized, quiet restaurant. i can’t believe this mom said she can’t if her kid screams or not. if it’s screaming, take it outside. simple as that. sooner or later they’ll figure out what’s acceptable and what isn’t.
i hope more businesses follow suit.