A Florida Restaurant Banned Children And Some Parents Are Livid
And why some parents are in agreement with the ban.
Unsplash When Hampton Station, a restaurant in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa, FL, posted a decal on its door forbidding children on Oct. 24, local parents had questions about the reasoning behind the ban of minors. The discussion escalated further when the Tampa Bay Moms Group posted a photo of the restaurant's front door to its Facebook page and judging by the comments section, it's safe to say locals are torn on the matter.
Although Troy Taylor, the owner of Hampton Station, didn't get into specifics about what lead to the ban on kids during an interview with the Today Show, he hinted that it was for their own safety. "It's basically about children's safety," he said. "We're a small, local place, and I couldn't stand to have someone get hurt, especially a kid, on our watch. And we really don't have the staff to monitor that kind of stuff."
Troy also alluded to the fact that the issues have arisen when people don't watch their own children while dining at the restaurant. He explained that although he knows drunk adults can be just as bad as kids, confronting someone else's child about their bad behavior is another story: "But it's okay for an adult to go over to another adult and say, 'Hey, I need you to stop. I need you to leave.' If an adult goes over to a child and does that, it's a whole different thing," he said. "It's a very touchy thing. And it's not our job to go out and tell kids what they should or shouldn't do."
Hearing his thoughts, it's no surprise that Troy's sign has sparked a heated debate over social media with people both for and against the ban.
"It's a bar with a clear safety issue and they had customers who weren't controlling their kids. Totally appropriate to make it an 18+ business. It's not discriminatory folks . . . it's a bar, after all. The people taking kids to a bar are, I perhaps, often the ones ignoring their kids. Take them to Chuck E Cheese," wrote one user.
Another parent agreed, saying:
"It's a privately owned business; they serve alcohol. If they don't want kids in there I think that is their business. I would prefer to go somewhere without kids, I have kids and I would not bring my kids to a place if they could not behave or keep an inside voice. Plus they serve alcohol, and many people feel parents should not drink when their kids are present, so good for them. If some parents don't like it they can go to some other place, I think many people might want to go without kids."
And of course, there was plenty of disappointment from parents who were used to bringing their kiddos along:
"I do not have an issue with a bar excluding children; however, most bar and grills do allow family patrons. When we exclude children, we must remember we are also excluding parents and women from patroning local food spots. I loved visiting this place during lunch with my husband and child. We would order a pizza, enjoy the fun scenery and he often ordered one beer. I do not drink. We will no longer be patrons at this establishment."