Parents outraged after pizza restaurant bans children
Last week, a pizza shop in Florida received extensive backlash after putting a sign outside the restaurant that said "No children".
The sign, which was written in capital letters, drew the attention of community groups including a Tampa Bay Mum’s Group on Facebook.
On the Facebook page, many expressed their “outrage” saying that the restaurant was a popular family dining place.
However, the owner of the pizza shop, Troy Taylor, said a particular incident led him to ban children from his shop.
“A lot of people couldn’t keep their kids under control,” Mr Taylor told the Tampa Bay Times.
“A kid was in danger and could have seriously been hurt,” he said. “It’s a liability and safety issue. After the incident, I thought, this can’t happen again.”
The restaurant is located on a busy street and has a patio with access to the road.
Mr Taylor also said the fact that his restaurant also serves alcohol also played into his decision.
Social media users have been split on whether they are for or against the ban.
“This is a place that neighbourhood families rallied around. I mean, this place literally uses action figures as their order markers,” one wrote.
One user asked, “How does this not fall into some type of discrimination?”
However, other locals are supporting the no kids policy, writing that families can choose to go to a different pizza shop instead.
“Fine by me! I don’t have to take my kids everywhere with me and there’s also plenty of other pizza places I can take them with me if I chose to."
Mr Taylor acknowledged that he may lose customers over his new policy but “couldn’t live with the fact that a child might get hurt at Hampton".
“We had a lot of great kids come into Hampton and we are going to miss them, but this had to be done for everyone’s wellbeing,” Mr Taylor said.
What do you think of this pizza shop’s ban? Do you think it is justified? Let us know in the comments below.