An upscale restaurant has banned children aged five and under – and the result?
Business is booming.
Italian restaurateur Pasquale Caruso told his local newspaper, the Mooresville Tribune, that too many crying, screaming, and misbehaving youngsters had brought complaints from diners.
So he had to act.
The Italian restaurateur and father-of-two, from North Carolina in the United States, adopted the policy after his establishment risked losing money.
Mr Caruso said since his namesake restaurant, Caruso's, put the measure in place reservations have increased from 50 to 80 each day.
"Banning children has always been a topic in the industry and every owner says, 'I wish I could do it'," he said.
"People don’t want to come in and spend money on a nice meal and an evening out, when there’s constantly food on the floor, loud electronic devices keeping kids entertained, and small children screaming. It was just the right decision for my business".
Restaurant manager Yoshi Nunez said on one occasion a girl was using an iPad with the volume on loud, but her parents refused to turn it down, despite wait staff asking her to.
"Finally, we had to ask them to leave," Mr Nunez told the Washington Post.
"They were upset, but they didn’t seem to care about what the other guests thought.
"'We tried to be nice about the situation, but we’re here to take care of customers and we can’t tell a parent how to control their kids".
Before the ban, Caruso's enforced a dress code – and had no children's menu. Of course, since the policy was implemented, opinions are divided.
On social media one man said that he'll "definitely" visit the restaurant now there'd be no danger of loud children interrupting his dinner.
Another punter agreed, writing on Facebook: "I support the restaurant! No one is making you go there - it is the right of the owner! GET OVER IT!"
But some, such as Nancy Cardin, have called the ban "ageist".
Gary D Elam sarcastically suggested that Caruso's provides sections for "obnoxious adults".
Paul Bastek commented that restaurants instead require parents of "disobedient" children donate money to charities, such as Planned Parenthood.
Newshub.
