College Park restaurant bans high schoolers to avoid being a ‘day care’
Moving to highend menu and atmosphere
Tornatore’s is no longer serving customers younger than 18 without an adult as the Orlando eatery works to become a high-end Italian restaurant and less like a “day care” for nearby Bishop Moore Catholic High School.
The College Park neighborhood restaurant also has stopped selling pizza slices after owner Denny Tornatore said a group of four teenagers recently each left their server a penny tip. They had been in the restaurant from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. with each ordering a slice of pizza and water, Tornatore said.
He said the restaurant’s parking lot, which is across the street from Bishop Moore, can be taken over by parents picking up their kids. His business has been used like a “day care” with some teenagers waiting there for hours until their parents can get them after work, he said.
The changes went into effect last Tuesday as the restaurant rolled out a new menu featuring mushroom pappardelle as well as frutti di mare, a dish with squid ink pasta, shrimp, calamari and mussels.
Renovations are also taking place at the restaurant, with in person dining possibly having to close for a week or two in July for changes to the dining room, Tornatore said.
“Now we’re at a point where we need to up the ambiance more. Make it darker, make it sexier,” Tornatore said. “This
“Now we’re at a point where we need to up the ambiance more. Make it darker, make it sexier...This whole thing with the kids just happened to happen at the right time.”
— Denny Tornatore at his Tornatore’s Italian Market on Tuesday
whole thing with the kids just happened to happen at the right time.”
He said he has seen Bishop Moore help with the issue, including with their own security telling kids of the changes.
“I am very thankful that they stepped up and actually have somebody address it,” Tornatore said.
Bishop Moore president Tom Doyle said in a written statement Bishop Moore is now serving pizza and hamburgers after school onsite to encourage students to stay on campus.
“We were certainly unaware of all of the allegations concerning student conduct, which, if true, we certainly did not and do not condone,” Doyle said. “Any instances that the administration was made aware of were dealt with immediately with the students and families involved. Our hope is that the new menu and Tornatore’s more upscale business model succeeds.”
Change isn’t anything new for Tornatore’s, which opened in 2010 as Caffe Positano.
In 2015, celebrity chef Robert Irvine and Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible” transformed the eatery into Tornatore’s.
The restaurant has received pushback over its decision, including police coming to the business for a bomb threat, Tornatore said.
Last Wednesday, Orlando Police responded after being informed by a news outlet about an online comment where a person said they would take action against the business, Orlando Police spokesperson Heidi Rodríguez said.
The response has also included negative online reviews, Tornatore said.
“I’m not going to have my employees bullied by kids,” he said of the bomb threat and bad reviews. “We are moving forward.”