Kids are loud, which can be a sure way to disrupt a dinner table. We’ve come a long way from the Victorian mantra “children should be seen and not heard,” but to exactly what extent should they be seen, and more importantly, heard? That’s the question that divided diners over the warning one restaurant in rural Georgia (the U.S. state that coincidentally grows the most peanuts in America) makes clear on its menus: “Adult surcharge: For adults unable to parent $$$.” It’s the polar opposite to chain restaurants where children eat for free, and as reported by Today, one family was shocked after being hit by the $50 charge. When they questioned the owner of Toccoa Riverside Restaurant, he claimed their kids were “too loud.”
The decision went viral on social media, leaving Reddit users outraged. “This whole thing reads like they’re doing you a favor by letting you eat there,” one user pointed out, while another said they’d “rather go to McDonald’s.” However, others saw the rational side. “I’ve been out more than once where parents were literally letting their kids wild,” one Redditor reasoned. “Not sure if this is the answer, but something definitely should be done about such parents.” Along a similar vein, another added: “How many oblivious, self-centered parents did it take before they put that on the menu?”
What does the law say?
So, you might be in agreement with the eatery, or you might prefer to eat at a fast food joint every day of the week. But what’s the legal situation — is it one of those weird state food laws you didn’t know existed? To find out, Chowhound caught up with The Restaurant Lawyer Andreas Koutsoudakis, chair of hospitality and restaurant law group at DHC Legal, in an exclusive chat. In short, he explained that the surcharge is permissible, as being a parent is not a protected class.
“On the restaurant owner side, this is a business decision,” he told us. “By charging a surcharge, you are telling guests without kids ‘come dine with us, it’s going to be a kid-free (or kid-light) experience.’ You’re also creating an environment that is more conducive to higher check averages through alcohol sales. On the other hand, you’re telling guests with kids to ‘come dine with us if your kids are well behaved, but understand we charge an extra fee as a disincentive to dine with us, so maybe go somewhere else.'” Koutsoudakis said there are ways to do this legally if it’s part of the dining concept, as long as the guest isn’t treated differently due to a protected class status.
“One common misunderstanding in the context of the service refusal by restaurants is that private restaurants can do whatever they want, as if it is their private residence,” he added. “A private business is not the same as a private residence because it is a place of public accommodation.” As such, he concluded, there are restrictions on what you can and cannot do, but this policy gets a legal pass.
