Pennsylvania Restaurant Bans Children Under 6

I'm sure that there will be an outcry about being unfair, that business's should be open to any and everyone that this is unacceptable for a private business owner, who may have worked his whole life to open his restaurant wants to have a nice peaceful atmosphere for his paying customers.

McDain's Restaurant of Monroeville, PA has had it with noisy kids. In an email sent to customers, owner Mike Vuick wrote, "Beginning July 16, 2011, McDain's Restaurant will no longer admit children under six years of age. We feel that McDain's is not a place for young children. Their volume can't be controlled and many, many times, they have disturbed other customers."

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I would actually prefer an atmosphere like that.

It's his restaurant he can do as he likes. The customer is not always right.

Good for them! You know how many times i've been trying to chat up a cousin just to have her kids butt in and ruin the mood. I hope McDonald's (my main choice of fine cuisine restaurants) decides to do the same,

I'm coming at this from a legal angle: isn't this age discrimination?

Or does age discrimination only apply to those over 40?

I'd like to see more resturaunts do the same.
I, like many people, prefer not to eat with some screaming child at the next table.

His business..he should get to make the rules, and he must have a valid reason .

I'm sure there are customers who highly appreciate going somewhere with less volume of excitable,and sometimes cranky children under the age of 6. If they are not supervised well, and made to stay seated, they can sometimes cause some major disaster, and even severe burns. As a server, you often have your arms up holding things, and your vision to lower things is somewhat blocked. You are usually rushing around to serve people with hot coffee,or hot plates of food, and young children running around can get very frustrating, because you know it can be potentially very dangerous.

Why should it be a discussion point for a private business owner to place restrictions on potential customers?
Isn't that free market capitalism, which so many nations espouse?

Originally posted by Bixxi3
Good for them! You know how many times i've been trying to chat up a cousin just to have her kids butt in and ruin the mood. I hope McDonald's (my main choice of fine cuisine restaurants) decides to do the same,

edit on 11-7-2011 by Bixxi3 because: (no reason given)

edit on 11-7-2011 by Bixxi3 because: (no reason given)

McDonald's?? you mean mickey dee's??..they will NEVER exclude children, unless they start some other type chain level. That was a joke ..right?

While I think what he is doing is just fine, i can understand the counter-arguments and it would most likely involve a slippery slope. What's next? Restaurant owners banning homosexuals? Women? Fat people? Just playing Devil's advocate here.

There is a restaurant here in Phoenix, and if the woman it was named after is ever working, she is very well known for telling a family to get their stuff and get out if the kid acts up. She doesn't make them pay, just leave. I worked there for a couple of years, and is a very nice place to eat. My daughter has been going there since she was born and has always been very well behaved there. The one or two times she got to the point of acting up, I would take her out instantly out of respect for the other customers. Once again, respect is lacking in the world.

Originally posted by nunya13
While I think what he is doing is just fine, i can understand the counter-arguments and it would most likely involve a slippery slope. What's next? Restaurant owners banning homosexuals? Women? Fat people? Just playing Devil's advocate here.

Why shouldn't a private business owner be able to discriminate against anyone he wants as long as he is not causing harm or injury to the person?

reply to post by NuroSlam


No outcry here. I have boys 5 and 8 and they let loose occasionally. I know some people want a quiet meal. I do believe we have gone over board in our lack of tolerance. I know people rarely challenge me and a group of five friends being as loud as we want...I was taught it was ok to have agood time (no violence or threats, just loud fun) when out...but kids? Anyway, I agree it is ok to make rules in your own establishment...I don't know of any that can handle a group of 15 on St. Paddy's day screaming in laughter at one of my cousin Waldo's stories though...many looks in bewilderment at our tables over the years due to hysterical laughter...

CJ

This is much needed in certain places, especially when children seem to be more unruly than ever.
The owner clearly has his mind made up on the desired setting and mood of his establishment, good for him for going along with it without much fear of public backlash.

There's nothing more irritating that going out, hoping to have a nice meal, then having your glittery-eyed moment with your beau ruined by the mom who feels the need to tell her 5 year old to sit down, stop yelling, or not to argue with her every 30 seconds.

I hope the food is as great as the quiet atmosphere.

Great idea!
Many parents have no control of their kids and makes for an obnoxious dining experience for other patrons.

Jesus, people support this crap? You aren't the only people on Earth. If you want to eat "in peace" cook a meal at home.

"I'd rather eat in peace" "I don't wanna eat with kids running around"

How is this different than "We don't them thar negros in OUR restaurants!" or "NO JEWS" outside of restaurants in Nazi Germany?

If I went to a restaurant and someone pointed at my kid and said "We don't serve those people here" I'd punch them square in the face.

If someone is being disrespectful or are disturbing other customers, tell them they have to leave. I guess blatant discrimination only works when people want it.

i can really sympathize with the restraunt about this. i agree with many of the posters that screaming brats should be outlawed in restraunts, heck i would go so far to say most public places. seriously if parents can't keep their children under control they shouldn't go out with them. i worked in a store for years, that screaming really gets to you. you get to the point where you want to go over and throttle them, and/or the parents.

unfortunately it IS discrimination. maybe the best solution would be to say that any kid screaming or disrupting other customers will be tossed out immediately if not brought under control, and also make them pay whatever they owe as well (no cute freebie meals for parents causing their kids to misbehave to avoid paying). this would still annoy parents but would be nice for everyone else. remember parents aren't the only ones with rights, the rest of us have a right to do things like eat in peace, watch movies in peace ect.

perhaps if people returned to actually disciplining miss behaving kids we wouldn't even have this problem to begin with. for my parents it was simple, if i acted up or was screaming my head off for no real reason, they would gently ask if i wanted something to cry about. it generally worked, if not i was spanked like any good parent would do. i don't blaim the misbehaving kids, i blaim the parents who do nothing to stop such behavior.now obviously you should not beat the living tar out of kids, but even a gental tap to the butt can be effective.

Originally posted by Shadys321
I would actually prefer an atmosphere like that.

It's his restaurant he can do as he likes. The customer is not always right.

That's cool... and he can think he can do what he likes... but he won't be able to. He'll go out of business or he'll change that policy.

We had a pizzeria here that closed down for the same reason. The owner thought he can make all these rules and what happened was people just stopped coming in. He essentially put himself out of business.

They were stupid rules too... Like you can't order Chicken parm with raviolis, only with spaghetti. Even if you offered to buy BOTH meals and told them to keep the sides that come with the raviolis you were denied sale.

It was a matter of... I say so, this is the way it comes -- there will be no way around it. And he went out of business in about a month.

This is the theory behind the saying "The customer is always right." For if you have no customers, you have no business.

Get it yet?

reply to post by nunya13

Sure, why not.
If I dine "out" I will choose to dine in a "free" environment...kids, gays, immigrants and good food is my idea of fun! If my neighbor wishes to be more selective...why should "laws" prohibit this preference?

I wish all restaurants would do this, fast food chains included. I cannot believe some of the things I have seen at restaurants. I recently went to the nearby TGI Friday's and this family was letting their 2 kids run amok through the restaurant, the little kids even caused a waitress to drop a tray full of food and the parents just sat their oblivious to the chaos their kids were causing. No apology, no yelling at the kids, nothing. Just today I went to my local Quiznos for lunch and a little kid threw his sandwich across the restaurant as his mother was yapping away on her cell phone. Of course the workers had to go clean up the mess. Don't parents discipline their kids anymore? What about teaching manners and respect?

I used to laugh at the people who worked at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants but now I have tremendous respect for them after seeing what they go through.

Edit: by the way many fast food chains do have similar rules. McDonald's requires customers to wear some form of footwear to to wear shirts (ie: no bikinis or shirtless men) - there is a sign at all McDonald's stating this (along with the sauces policy for the McNuggets and the Chicken Strips). Ive heard of certain Quiznos locations with similar rules though the one in my town is more relaxed.