Children & Restaurants

If you happen to have children under the age of six, and if you find yourself in Monroeville (PA)... you are not welcome at Michael Vuick's place (McDain's Restaurant). Actually, you and the wife are totally welcome, but you have to leave the kids (under the age of six) in the car. Needless to say, the car is not a good idea, and we suggest that you try another establishment.

Kids tend to make noise, and noise can be a bad thing while folks are dining, so it is what it is. It's certainly not a brilliant public relations decision to ban kids from your restaurant, but it's his place, and there are plenty of kid-friendly restaurants to choose from, so this situation is not exactly the most critical news story of the day.

It does remind me of a discussion I had with a chef in New York City. I was talking about the ongoing child obesity issues along with my disdain for the fast food industry and their role in the subject of unhealthy dining. I talked about the growth and influence of McDonald's, and I was somewhat stunned by his spin on children and dining.

The chef suggested that "most upscale restaurants dread the moment that children enter their restaurants, and their fear of children has been in place for years and years. In the meantime, McDonald's continues in the opposite direction. They market to the entire family, and even go so far as building playgrounds on their properties.

"Generations grow-up with McDonald's and we continue to discourage families with kids. The children eventually graduate to the chains at the expense of our so-called fine dining restaurants. After X amount of years, fine dining finds itself in some trouble".

It's only one chef talking about kids and restaurants, and I'm not so sure that fine dining is related to the issue in question. I am suggesting that a single restaurant is banning children under six, and I don't see this as the beginning of a movement to drive even more people to fast foods. It's really a non-story that is generating tons of unnecessary publicity.