Restaurant Bans Kids And The Internet Has Feelings About It

No children allowed policy creates backlash for Tampa eatery

A Tampa area restaurant that serves pizza and craft beer has decided to ban children, and inconvenienced parents aren’t happy about it.

But not everyone disagrees.

A pizza place in Tampa, Florida, the establishment’s owner decided to ban kids, and the internet is weighing in.

Troy Taylor, the owner of Hampton Station, admitted to WKRG that it wasn’t an easy decision. “I definitely think that sales are gonna take a dip.”

If local mom and dedicated pizza lover (she even has a pizza tattoo!) Stephanie Gallego’s response is any indication, he’s right. “Kids can be a ruckus sometimes, but if you’re trying to market in our community, I wouldn’t necessarily ban kids. I would possibly talk to the parents of them,” she said.

But not everyone has a problem with Hampton Station’s decision.

A Tampa Bay moms group on Facebook put the issue to its members, and seeing as the place positions itself as a bar, most of them seem okay with it. After all, like this mom says, sometimes you want to go where nobody calls your name.

“Their business, their choice. If I want to eat with my kids, I’ll go someplace else. If I want to avoid all kids, I love knowing there is a place for that too.”

Every parent needs the occasional respite from children, both their own and others. Especially parents with a lot of kids!

“I have 5 kids of my own and I think this is totally acceptable! If it’s a bar type atmosphere, why bring your kids there anyways? Just my two cents.” It’s okay to admit that.

One mom suspects the people complaining are hypocrites.

“These people that are upset are probably the same exact people that go out on date night to a bar and give stank eye to a person who decided to bring their kids to a bar and grill.”

It’s clear that Hampton Station’s owner had real reasons for prohibiting children.

Taylor says he only made the decision after some kids were acting out in a way that put themselves and other customers at risk, therefore, putting his business at risk. “We had an incident last week where some kids were endangering themselves and others,” he explains.

I live in Brooklyn, and in my neighborhood, it’s pretty much taken for granted that if your place serves food, kids are going to be in there sometimes, craft beers or not. It’s actually one of the charms. But not everyone appreciates it, and sometimes that includes even me.

When I have a date night, the last thing I need to deal with is someone else’s kids reminding me why date nights are so hard to begin with.

There are plenty of places that allow kids and serve beer. It makes sense that there should be some places that go the other way, should they so choose. Ultimately, it’s the business’s decision, and it’s a much bigger deal to the people making their living there than the customers who have plenty of other options.

“I haven’t got much sleep the past four or five days really, because of this. ‘Cause this is my livelihood,” the owner said.