We’re having a showdown here in Harlem at the moment. There’s a local family list serve that people use for information and discussions, which is great. I find out many things happening in the area. It’s good to be informed. I know about the recent hold ups for iphones in the park and can now avoid that area. I know about local attacks and crimes and things that I need to know. For the last two days there’s been a thread running about a local pizza restaurant, who apparently cancelled a large party booking because the majority of the guests were children. Now I don’t know all the details but it seems to have gotten way out of control.
I have dined there and although I don’t frequent the place I have no problem with it. From the information I can get from the list serve there is no issue with children dining perse, just that a large group like that at a certain time is not cost effective and being a private business the owner has the right to decide his clientele within the law. Here’s the problem. People are going batshit crazy and trying to organise ‘eat ins’ and protests and wanting to bring the business down because they choose not to serve a large party of unruly children. This is disgusting to me. Children do not run the world. Children need to behave in a certain manner as to not disturb other diners. That is a given, unfortunately these days some parents feel that their children are more important that anyone else around and allow them to run unsupervised in a restaurant establishment, annoying the waiters, bar staff and other patrons, who, by the way are not spending 5 bucks on a slice.
I am offended that people feel it is their right to bring a business down because of this. Teaching children to behave politely in society is important but sadly it seems no one is doing it anymore. I feel like I want to patronise this place more just to support them in their endeavour to conduct a business.
If your toddler or young child can’t sit still, go to a place that serves pizza while you roam, like Chuck E Cheese or some other child friendly place. Better yet teach them to behave. Stop inflicting your asshole kids behaviour on others who wish to dine in a fine dining establishment trying to improve the neighbourhood.
I’m deliberately not mentioning any names. If you’re local to Harlem, you’ll know… Please support this business.
End of rant.
Comments 8
Hey, I think I’m with you on that. 🙂 Nice insights
Is it the one I went to?
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No Jenn, this is a local Harlem restaurant. They have no problem with children eating there they have problems with large groups of kids with few adults not paying attention to what the kids are doing. I get that.
This type of crap drives me crazy. I hope people come to their senses and realize the problem isn’t the restaurant but the parents.
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I know, who decides the world should be held to ransom for the children. When did children become more important than adults in this case. Children are important but not at the expense of a business owner whose done no wrong.
Oh Molly, you know I love you. You KNOW it. BUT, it sounds like the booked the party and then cancelled? If so, then they were wrong. If they didn’t book the party in the first place, than I know I wouldn’t like it, but I’d understand it. This business accepted the booking of a party then doubled back and decided that that many kids were not welcome. I take issue with that.
Of course kids don’t rule the world but they deserve to be respected and it shouldn’t be assumed that these kids were going to go ape shit in this joint. This group of kids could have been extremely well-behaved! If they ended up being awful, they could be asked to leave just like any other unruly customer.
Does the business deserve to be tanked because of this? No, of course not. But do they deserve to SEE that their decision cost them business? Totally.
Just my 2 cents.
PS: I love you.
PPS: Don’t hate me.
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I understand what you’re saying and I truly do love you, no question. Here’s my thing, more than the behaviour of the kids in question, is that parents feel the need to crush a business because they feel slighted. A better idea might be to approach the owner and work it out. Posting it on a public forum isn’t the best way to handle it, in my opinion. This same forum had an entire week of mud slinging against a local pediatrician a couple of years ago. This behaviour seems petty and childish to me. I always go out hoping that children in restaurants are well behaved. Sometimes they are not, what chaps me the most is when they’re not and the parents don’t curb the behaviour, subjecting the rest of the place to it. Children aren’t born knowing how to behave, they have to learn.
GAH! I meant “Oh Molley…”