Restaurant adds $50 ‘unable to parent’ fee for rowdy kids, menu reads

BLUE RIDGE, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) – A Georgia restaurant is gaining national attention for charging customers a fee for “bad parenting.”

The menu at Toccoa Riverside Restaurant – about two hours north of Atlanta – offers a selection of dishes like steak, trout and American fare. But look a little closer, and you’ll notice something else.

At the bottom of the menu is an adult surcharge for customers “unable to parent,” followed by three dollar signs.

“Adult surcharge: For adults unable to parent $$$,” the menu reads.

According to some guests, the exact amount is apparently at the restaurant’s discretion, with some saying they were charged $50.

Several Google Reviews said they were unhappy with the charge. One review reads:

“If you have children, absolutely avoid this place at all costs. Holy moly - the most disrespectful owner made a huge scene in front of the entire restaurant because our children were “running through the restaurant” - they were down by the river.. we were told we need to “go to Burger King and Walmart” and that we were bad parents. They have a $50 surcharge for “bad children.”

Another reviewer claims he was charged $50, even though his children were well behaved.

“The owner came out and told me he was adding $50 to my bill because of my children’s behavior. My kids watched a tablet until the food arrived, ate their food and my wife took them outside while I waited and paid the bill.”

The surcharge has since gone viral on Reddit. Some have criticized the restaurant, calling the fee “discriminatory” and “vague.”

Users also criticized the other fees on the menu, like an 18% gratuity for separate checks and a $3 fee for sharing a plate.

The restaurant owner told WANF he’s had the parent surcharge on the menu since the pandemic, but he’s never had to enforce it on any of his customers. He wants to emphasize the charge is not for kids but for adults who “don’t know how to parent.”

The owner also said a group would have to be “really bad” for the fee to be brought up at all.

A representative for the restaurant went on to say there’s nothing wrong with kids and families coming to the restaurant. However, kids running wild through the dining room “isn’t parenting.”

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