An Italian restaurant in New Jersey has made the controversial decision to no longer allow children under the age of 10 to dine in the restaurant.
Nettie’s House of Spaghetti announced the move via social media on Thursday. According to the post, the change will go into effect on March 8.
The Tinton Falls restaurant says the decision to not allow children to eat in the restaurant was not taken lightly but based on “some recent events.” Nettie’s did not specifically say what caused them to ban kids.
“We love kids. We really, truly, do,” the post read. “But lately, it’s been extremely challenging to accommodate children at Nettie’s. Between noise levels, lack of space for high chairs, cleaning up crazy messes, and the liability of kids running around the restaurant, we have decided that it’s time to take control of the situation.”
The policy drew mixed reactions in the comments, with some agreeing it is a good idea while others felt it was too harsh.
“Sorry to hear this,” one person wrote alongside a thumbs-down emoji on Facebook.
“Hire an old Italian grandma with a wooden spoon to set the record straight,” @jamiegiovinazzo wrote under Nettie’s Instagram post.
Either way, the controversy is bringing attention to the restaurant. The Facebook post got so much attention Nettie’s limited the comments. It still garnered over 30,000 reactions and has been shared over 8,000 times. Their Instagram post has over 2,000 comments, and the restaurant limited who can see the number of likes.
