Restaurant bans children under six

Children banned from eating in a PA restaurant. Image from google Images

McDain’s Restaurant and Golf Center in Monroeville, PA has decided to stop admitting young children. Owner Mike Vuick wrote in an email to loyal customers “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.”

Vuick explained his reasoning to the local news,saying “I think it’s the height of being impolite and selfish, and therefore, I instituted a policy…Nothing wrong with babies, but the fact is you can’t control their volume,” Vuick said. “There may be restaurants that prefer to cater to such things. Not here.” He further stated that he does not intend to make any exceptions to the rule.

One loyal customer, Stephanie Kelley, had planned a July 16 dinner outing at McDain’s with a group of 20 visiting family members from North Carolina, including her 13 month old son, but Vuick told her he would not take the reservation if she plans to bring the child.

Kelley said “If they’re so concerned about noise, what do they plan to do about the loud people at the bar?”

Customers who were interviewed generally said children in the restaurant don’t bother them, but they support Vuick’s right to deny service.

Vuick is confident that the majority of his customers will support the new policy. “…I’ve noticed…there are certain parents who can’t leave their children at home,” Vuick said, “You know, their child — maybe as it should be — is the center of their universe. But they don’t realize it’s not the center of the universe.”

While restaurants cannot ban senior citizens because they’re in a protected class under the law, there is no law that prevents children from being denied service.

Source: msnbc.msn.com