Dining out can be tough for parents. Often, kids can be hard to manage in public, making dining out stressful for everyone around.
This couple faced such a challenge and claimed they were ‘fined’ for it. Keep reading to find out more.
A restaurant in North Georgia did something surprising: charging a fine for ‘poor parenting.’ The Toccoa Riverside Restaurant near Blue Ridge has sparked a big debate online: is it fair to charge parents for their kids’ bad behavior?
A customer on Reddit shared their experience at the restaurant. They wrote, “The owner came out and told me he was adding $50 to my bill because of my children’s behavior… disappointed by the experience.”
A reporter reached out to the restaurant for their side of the story. The owner, Tim Richter, decided to set the record straight. He explained that while the restaurant added a surcharge during COVID-19 to cover costs, they hadn’t actually charged anyone more than their bill recently.
He mentioned he had never threatened anyone with the surcharge until a few weeks ago when a family visited with their nine children. The children were running around everywhere.
He said he did warn the parents, but never actually charged them the money!
“We want parents to be parents,” he simply said. The restaurant, nestled in the mountains along the Toccoa River, usually enjoys a calm crowd. It’s quite popular, and during meal times, cars line up along the roadside.
A customer named Laura Spillman, visiting from Florida, was shocked when she heard about the policy.
“That is crazy,” she said incredulously. “For real? I don’t think you should do it because kids are cute.”
Anne Cox, who was having lunch with her family, thought the fee might encourage parents to control their children better.
“Parents need to teach kids etiquette,” she said. “They need to teach kids to behave. There are other people in the world, so they should have fun in the right place.”
Federico Gambineri, who was at the restaurant with his toddler, was surprised by the policy. “This is the first time I’ve heard of that, and having a 20-month-old that maybe isn’t the best behaved at a restaurant, I’m hoping that I don’t get charged,” he added.
“I feel that if I were charged, I would be very unhappy about it and probably never recommend the place to somebody.”
Jack Schneider, a regular at the restaurant, said he had mixed feelings about the surcharge. “At the same time, we’ve all sat next to tables where you say hey, do something with that kid. So I really think it’s more on the parents.”
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What do you think about this debate? Let us know in the comments so we can hear your thoughts. Share this story with others so they can also give you their opinions.
5 thoughts on “Couple says restaurant fined them for ‘poor parenting’ – the restaurant owner then reveals the truth”
I would have asked them to leave. Parents have no control over their kids and people think it’s cute.
Leaving your kids run a muck is not only rude to other people around you who are trying to enjoy a quite dinner its dangerous. I was a waitress and there was a time a kid running around almost had very hot food dumped on him because he ran into me. Lucky for him I took the heat to save him that pain. Which could have been avoided if his parents had taught him how to behave and stay in his seat.
Would have kicked them out, period.
They should have been removed from the restaurant and not charged, the restaurant would have been money ahead to get them out.
The fine was acceptable. Maybe menus should advise that badly behaved children’s parent will find additional charges for bad behavior of their children. They can chose to leave if not willing to control their children.