Going too far? Restaurant charges $50 fee for "adults unable to parent" naughty kids
A restaurant in the US is stirring up a mixed reaction after implementing a surcharge for guests “unable to parent” their children.
A photo of Georgia’s Toccoa Riverside Restaurant menu was recently posted on Reddit. The bottom of the menu reads, “Adult surcharge: For adults unable to parent $$$.”
This restaurant charges you extra for bad parenting
byu/LPineapplePizzaLover inmildlyinteresting
No amount is listed on the menu itself, but according to comments on Reddit and Google Reviews, the eatery charges $50 for poor parenting at its establishment.
The restaurant has over 2,000 Google Reviews, with strong opinions about its bad parenting fee.
“If you have children, absolutely avoid this place at all costs. Holy moly — the most disrespectful owner made a huge scene in front of the entire restaurant because our children were ‘running through the restaurant’ — they were down by the river. We were told we need to ‘go to Burger King and Walmart’ and that we were bad parents. They have a $50 surcharge for ‘bad children,'” wrote one reviewer.
“The owner came out and told me he was adding $50 to my bill because of my children’s behaviour. My kids watched a tablet until the food arrived, ate their food and my wife took them outside while I waited and paid the bill,” wrote another.
“Don’t go if you have children,” states one commenter.
Restaurant implements other charges
But that’s not the only part of the restaurant’s menu that stands out.
The screenshot shared on Reddit shows that Toccoa Riverside also may add a 20% gratuity to parties over six, split cheques, and its birthday menu.
They also listed a “share charge” of $3 but did not specify what that would be applied to.
Not only that, the restaurant said that it offers a “cash discount” and its regular pricing includes a 3.5% “non-cash adjustment.”
“Customer notice — prices listed on our menu reflect our cash price. Our regular price includes a 3.5% non-cash adjustment. We offer savings when you pay with cash.”
Folks on Reddit were taken aback but the restaurant’s strict policies.
“If I read this at a restaurant I would probably leave. Charge for unruly kids and a ‘share charge [of] $3’ like who cares if I wanna share my food once I pay for it?” wrote one commenter.
“It’s hard to imagine a waiter coming up and asking for extra money for any that bullshit. It must start a lot of arguments in the restaurant,” stated another.
“The number of red flags on this menu, I’d just go ahead and say no thanks. I mean, the parenting thing is one bit, but if they can’t get their shit together enough to deal with setting a price that deals with their credit card fees, and their solution is to show the cheap price and add a surcharge?” said one Redditor.
Kids in restaurants are a hot topic
The issue of kids’ behaviour in restaurants has been a hot topic of late.
In February, an Italian restaurant in New Jersey sparked conversation after introducing a new policy that banned children under 10 from dining in. “We love kids. We really, truly do. But lately, it’s been extremely challenging to accommodate children at Nettie’s,” the restaurant wrote on its Facebook page.
A week later, another restaurant, a Chick-fil-A location in Pennsylvania, received attention for introducing a similar policy.
In March, Daily Hive conducted a poll to see how Canadians felt about these policies.
Just over 76% of Canadians thought the policies were “great” and wanted to see other establishments adopt them. Nearly 16% thought child-free dining was not great, but a fair ask on the restaurants’ part. However, almost 8% believed it was “unfair and discriminatory” to exclude children from the experience.
What are your thoughts on policies around kids in restaurants? Do you agree with the “bad parenting” surcharge?
Let us know in the comments.