Restaurants have banned everything from tipping to avocados, but we've never heard of this one. Caruso's, a restaurant in Mooresville, NC, has put a ban on children under five years old. As you can expect, the backlash was real and intense. But there was also overwhelming support for the decision, which resulted a surge in reservations.
According to the Washington Post, the restaurant made its controversial choice after a particularly disruptive dinner service. Things were going well at the Italian restaurant until a young diner decide to use her iPad with the volume on high, even after repeated requests to turn it down. After a while, the staff had to ask the little girl and her parents to leave. As the restaurant's manager, Yoshi Nunez, explained: "They were upset, but they didn't seem to care about what the other guests thought."
The ban for children under the age of five went into effect in January, and the restaurant is reaping the benefits. While the eatery used to average about 50 diners per day, Caruso's is now seeing about 80 diners walk through their doors daily. People from across the country have even vowed to visit the restaurant.
While this isn't the first restaurant to ban children, it'll be interesting to see if more restaurants follow in Caruso's footsteps. Whatever they do, though, it can't be worse than banning boxed wine.
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