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A child-free restaurant ban serves up a new era
POV: Your great night out is ruined by a screaming, crying child—whether you don’t have any or paid to keep yours at home. Never mind the mess they may leave in their wake. That’s precisely the driving force behind the controversial emerging restaurant trend: Banning kids.
After New Jersey’s Nettie’s House of Spaghetti’s ban on kids under age 10 went viral last year to global guffaw—taking a cue from Singapore restaurant Angie’s Oyster Bar & Grill’s surcharge for disruptive children added in 2022—restaurants across the country have enacted similar rules.
Brooklyn Italian restaurant Bar Louise has maintained its adults-only MO since bowing in the spring, while Indian fusion restaurant Andaaz, also in New Jersey, banned kids under 5 after 4pm from the get-go, among others.
Locally, a few establishments have—despite the controversy—brazenly jumped on the bandwagon. And for ZincHouse Winery and Brewery, it’s “the best decision we’ve made to date,” emphasizes co-owner Kimberly Tenoever of the 21+ age-restriction policy they implemented after their first year in business.
She explains the decision came in response to a laundry list of unruly child behaviors that, beyond affecting the guest experience, also led to incurred labor and repairs: think sliding down the marble staircase, chalking certain areas of the property, climbing electrical light poles, jumping in the fountain, throwing rocks at the ducks and chickens—to name but a few.
“We discovered early this was not our vision for ZincHouse, as we would have no option but to provide additional supervisory duties in order to keep our farm safe, enjoyable and from turning into an uncontrollable playground,” adds Tenoever. Read: It’s a winery—not a child care facility.
Relatively new-on-the-scene North Hills Indian sensation Tamasha has a similar mindset, having already established a “no kids under 5” sanction—though the restaurant does allow exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
“In an effort to uphold the high standards of service and ambiance our discerning clientele expect and deserve, we offer a child-free dining setting,” maintains co-owners Tina Vora and Mike Kathrani—“and we have found this policy enhances the overall dining experience for all our guests, allowing them to fully savor the moment and create lasting memories.”
Despite the initial backlash following Nettie’s bold ban, the spaghetti house may have actually blazed the trail for a new era in dining. While there’s plenty of discourse around the bans, Tenoever notes ZincHouse’s reviews have been mostly positive—and the couple has even been approached by several other drinking establishments looking for insight for putting similar policies in place. So, is child-free the future of dining? Better have a babysitter on call just in case.
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