Cafe’s child ban ‘a success’
For the last two months, children have been unable to enjoy what is supposedly ‘‘the best burger in New Zealand’’.
Why? Because the man behind the burgers, Tasman district restaurateur Fabian Prioux, has put in place a stringent ‘‘no children’’ policy. He has no plans to let children into his restaurant until New Zealand kids ‘‘are educated’’.
According to Prioux, 80 per cent of Kiwi kids don’t know how to behave when dining out.
No-one aged under 12 is welcome at his establishment, and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent. It’s been a controversial move for the restaurant, but one which Prioux says has paid off.
Abbey Road Burgers, Bar & Cafe´ opened at Appleby a year ago, but Prioux says poorly behaved children and their parents quickly plagued his gourmet burger joint.
‘‘We were shocked to see that people let their kids do whatever they want, and they were not respecting the other customers.’’
He claims children have cost his business, after damaging the leather menus, stabbing tables and breaking glasses.
The staff at Abbey Road tried to put an end to the misbehaviour by telling parents to control their kids – but Prioux says it only made matters worse.
Abbey Road is not the first cafe´ to ban children – Akaroa’s The Little Bistro banned children under 10, and in May said the three-year-old policy was a success.
At the time, Restaurant Association general manager Nicola Waldren said The Little Bistro’s ban was a rare move but there were some good supporting reasons. ‘‘They have a particular style of restaurant. It’s an evening restaurant, it’s intimate, it is less suited for children dining there.’’
Waldren said kids running around was a health and safety problem for many restaurants.
On Trip Advisor, Abbey Road has received several negative comments from families who were denied service.
Prioux says the restaurant initiated the child ban after a family complained on a review website after staff requested that they control their child.
He says he doesn’t dislike children. As a father of two, he used to regularly take his children out to cafe´ s and restaurants.
‘‘But they were well educated,’’ he says.
Prioux, a French chef from Nice, thinks there’s a cultural difference around how children in New Zealand are raised compared to many European nations.
‘‘A lot of parents don’t sit their kids at the table to have a meal,’’ he says, and therefore the children don’t know how to behave.
‘‘It’s not the fault of the children, it’s the education from the adults.’’
Although there have been numerous posts on sites such as Trip Advisor criticising the restaurant for banning children, Prioux says he will not give in.
‘‘We are not going to change – people are really happy. We are really happy. We will never change the policy.
‘‘As long as education does not change, the policy does not change,’’ he says.
‘‘We were shocked to see that people let their kids do whatever they want, and they were not respecting the other customers.’’
Fabian Prioux, restaurateur