Heaven is a child free restaurant says Kiwi restaurateur
A New Zealand restaurant owner’s decision to ban children from his venue says the change has “been like heaven”.
Fabian Prioux, owner of Abbey Road Burgers, Bar & Cafe in Nelson, began his clampdown on kids’ dining two months ago after becoming fed up by the thousands of dollars of damage they caused, which included broken chairs, scratched tables, damaged paintwork and destroyed menus.
Prioux decided to ban all children under the age of 12 from the premises, with any child between 12 to 18 years old to be accompanied by a parent.
Speaking to the NZ Herald, Prioux said the problems stemmed from “non-educated children”.
“The kids make some damage and the parents don’t say anything,” he said. “The tables have been stabbed with knifes, the chairs have been damaged as they climb all over them with their shoes, and there has been damage to the paint.
“It is all these things that add up to thousands of dollars which is not right.
“We should not have to deal with this damage, especially when their parents are right beside them and can see what the child is doing.”
Since making the change, Prioux said he has received “great feedback” from patrons.
“Of course we now have to refuse some families so in a way we are losing some trade, but at the same time I think it has attracted more people because they know they can come and eat at a place where they will not be annoyed by kids,” he said.
“Some people don’t understand, but in a way I don’t really care. We’ve had great comments from most customers who come in and I think it’s really positive in the end.”
Sheridan Randall, 10th December 2018
