OK. I just watched a segment on KOIN where a Silverton Thai restaurant has posted signs banning children 6 years old and under from the restaurant. No exceptions.

What do you think?

Is this discrimination? Or is he just exercising his right as a business owner?

If you think he has the right to do this, why is it any different than the photographers who didn't want to do the same sex wedding?

I'll start.

While I disagree with his method, and wouldn't eat there because of it, I think he has every right to do so.

I'd make my displeasure known with my dollars, or lack of them being spent in his establishment.

Next!

I'll wait for the whole story in tomorrow's bOregonian, not base my response on some 35 second sound bite.

I believe it is within his rights, legally, especially if there is
alcohol being sold. I'm not sure about the
age thing, though. I think he can exclude minors, I don't know
about arbitrarily picking an age other than 21.

It's certainly a poor choice if he's trying to build an image as a family restaurant. There's also the liquor laws if the restaurant serves. Nope, no TV station is going to give the story enough time to get the picture correct.

"poor choice if he's trying to build an image as a family restaurant."

I saw the story. His sign said under 6 years of age. Who said he was talking about a FAMILY Restaurant? The poor guy wants to have an UPSCALE Restaurant, not a CHUCK E. CHEESE! And that's what you end up with at times, to the detriment of your other guests! Their experience is ruined and this might be their first time at your restaurant.

Think about a first time guest at your restaurant with uncontrolled children allowed to Yell, Screen, Cry! Jump on chairs; Throw food all over the floor; Roll on the floor; Run up and down the aisles; etc. Would you think about taking your date or and guest back to a place like that?

The Silverton owner said if you want to come to my Restaurant, leave the kids with "The Baby-Sitter."

I'm with this guy 100%. He's a business owner and he has a right to run his business as he sees fit. If the young families of Silverton rise up in arms and don't support him, then his decision wasn't the best.... but he's got every right to make it.

Personally, I'd eat there just to enjoy a nice, quiet rugrat-free meal. There's lots of places with kiddie gyms and highchairs, I just don't happen to relish going to 'em.

Silverton? C'mon! They can't even get people to the Oregon Garden. With or without kids.

The restaurant will be out of business by the end of August. And I'm being generous. (Or he will change his policy.)

My Grandma taught me that home is where you learned table manners, and a restaurant is where you show off what you learned. It was a privilege to be taken out to eat because the adults knew you would behave appropriately. Misbehave, get left home with babysitter next time, and get grilled on manners yet again...it didn't take long to figure it out.

If the most memorable moment of what's supposed to be a night out for other diners (possibly away from their own kids) is your kids disrupting the room, what an embarrassment.

There are always standards to be met: potty training, utensils, reading, etc. Master one and it's on to the next. If you know your child isn't up to sitting in a nice restaurant for an hour, why would you set them up for failure?

Silverton is much too small for this experiment to work, but I agree with the premise.

I'd just put this sign in my store window:

"Noisy, No Manners, NO SERVICE
And if your kids misbehave they are not welcome either!"

AND:
"Designated Cell Phone Area!"
On the outside of the building.

I mean lets face it, when you look at the parents of the child who is misbehaving, it's usually that the rotten apple did not fall far from the tree!

I can handle the obnoxious child better than I can an obnoxious adult, especially one who feels the need to talk loudly while on a cell phone. And those F'in walkie talkie phones should be banned. Damn annoying if you ask me!

I'm with both of you! Good posts! I know where, and where not, to take Baby M; I like a nice quiet dinner as well, and there are plenty of places where she fits right in and kids are the norm.

BTW: Any suggestions for kid-friendly restaurants besides the usual: Red Robin, Laurelwood, PB & Ellies, etc.?

Chili's
TGI Friday's
Applebee's
Those would probably be good.

Stay away from dimmly lit restaurants as they are usually trying to cater to the adult crowd and setting a mood of a quite, nice place to get away. Don't expect to not run inot kids everywhere you go but the pricier the menu the less you see of them. So, for a quite night out with the wife it's usually someplace a little pricy or eating dinner in the lounge at a nice restaurant.

AMEN to that restaurant owner. I am sick and tired of going to moderate to expensive restaurants only to be bombarded by the screams or bad behavior of little brats.

Of course, it isn't the kid's fault. It's the fault of clueless parents. But hey, I pay good money, and I don't want it ruined by screaming monsters.

There are plenty of "family" restaurants that cater to the screaming brats. McDonalds. Pizza Parlors. The dreaded Red Robin.

Parental irresponsibility is rampant. Just the other day, the Mrs. and I were on a hike near one of our local rivers. We came across a group of parents with toddlers chatting along the river bank. Two of the toddlers were scrambling by the river, 40-50 feet away from the adults, who were cluelessly chatting amongst themselves. We put ourselves between the toddlers and the river and called out to the clueless parents.

We see this bad parental behavior all over the place- at the grocery store, at restaurants, at parks, sometime even in our own home when friends with little kids come over.

That's why we have lots of duct tape on hand. The best baby sitter ever.

The way I see it, this is different from the lesbian photographer issue. The business owner may feel that having children under the age of 6 could affect his business if other patrons choose not to go there because of rowdy kids. And maybe he's had problems with this. So, I can see where there may be a business reason for not allowing kids under 6 in the restaurant.

As for the photographer situation, there is no business reason, it's strictly discrimination based on sexual orientation because the owner of the business doesn't like gays. If the photographer could prove that taking pictures of a lesbian commitment ceremony would adversly affect the nature of the business, then I can see their point of not wanting to serve them. But, the lesbians were turned down strictly due to them being gay, which is illegal.

Mrs M: you have to try Old Wives' Tales. It's the best! Excellent food, and the best playroom in town, IMHO.

www.oldwivestalesrestaurant.com

I wish I could go play there too!

Discrimination against people under the age of 18/21 based on their age is perfectly legal.

That's why we have lots of duct tape on hand. The best baby sitter ever.

Like this?:

http://www.diylife.com/2007/10/08/dont-it-yourself-duct-tape-your-baby/

Discrimination against people under the age of 18/21 based on their age is perfectly legal.

They sort of covered this in the report. They didn't specifically say 18/21, but they did say that they checked with the Restaurant Association and found no legal issues.

I rather like this application better:
Click Here

Trying to promote a certain atmosphere in the restaurant by keeping the babies and toddlers out is very similar to having a dress code at the restaurant in order to promote a certain atmosphere. Since I am not in the market for a restaurant to take children to, I have absolutely no problem with this.

I would hope that people have the decency not to use "walkie talkie phones" or speakerphone cell phones in a nice dining establishment. How might it go over if I walked into that same establishment with an amateur radio "handie talkie" and used it almost continuously inside the premises?

I think this was an awesome decision! There is NOTHING I hate more than spending money at an expensive restaurant, and hear screaming brats running around making that ear piercing shreek.
I wish more restaurant would ban kids because If Im spending money, I don't want those little brats running around, ruining my meal. And its apparent that a lot of parents are Too selfish to disipline their kids when they are making a rackus at a restraunt. PARENTS, WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!! NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR YOUR SCREAMING BRATS while they are enjoying a nice meal!!! GET IT???? GOOD!

Alfredo, i'm afraid you'd be wearing my mashed taters before to long!

My initial reaction was this is a bad idea. But after thinking about it, there is nothing more annoying than eating a nice meal when all of a sudden overly indulgent parents allow their small children to play cute and run roughshod throughout the restaurant. Screaming and yelling, coupled with crying and the required throwing of food. Then out of nowhere, Junior insists on standing on the booth bench and leers at the diners in the adjoining booth.

Too, it should save the busser copious amounts of time cleaning up. As a former busser, there is nothing messier than a table with small children. Food everywhere, spilled drinks, soggy napkins, you name it.

We eat out on a regular basis and I can't recall ever being at a restaurant where there were issues with kids that ruined my meal.

I want to eat where YOU EAT!

Where is this Shangri-La Restaurant????

Vitalogy, I'm with you.

I can count on 1 hand the number of times there have been exceptionally unruly kids and never have had my meal ruined by them.

A little annoyed, yes. Ruined meal, nope!

Thankful my kids are now well beyond the the 6 and under stage.

I've been in management of restaurants for 15 plus years.

In that time, there was ONE incident where the kids got so bad, I had to ask them to leave. And it was 100% the PARENTS' faults! I 86'd the whole family.

Ruly kids today in Carl Jrs, Tualatin. Three-year-olds we're hopping from chair to chair allover the restuarant while we were trying to enjoy our cheese cake.

Ah, I feel your pain, there's nothing like a romantic dessert at a nice place and then to just have it ruined!

Alas, I can't go there because of those sloppy drippy TV ads...they gross me out too much.

Skep, I looked at the day on your post and thought "Cheese cake for breakfast. Great idea!!"

Then I saw the time and I guess it was a late desert!

I still like the idea of Cheese Cake for breakfast though (or any time for that matter!)

"Ah, I feel your pain, there's nothing like a romantic dessert at a nice place and then to just have it ruined!"

Nothing says I love you on a date like taking her out for a nice dessert ... at Carl's Jr.!

That reminds me of a good friend of mine in high school, he was so cheap he took his prom date to dinner at the McDonald's he worked at so he can get his employee discount.

Don't think he ever lived THAT down!

It's expected that Carl's Jr will have kids and/or burnouts/less desirables. You get what you pay for...