New Sushi Restaurant is Booming Because of One Simple Rule – No Kids Allowed

As parents, we have all been in a restaurant where our kids are acting like zoo animals and we have to endure the stares and dirty looks from the other couples not dining with children...you know what I mean. Well, one Sushi restaurant in Virginia has banned kids under 18 and business is BOOMING! As you can imagine, not everyone is happy about this and some parents have gone as far to compare the no kid policy to apartheid...really...don't you think that's a bit of a stretch? Apartheid, if you recall, was a system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948-1994, so making that comparison is pretty extreme and unfair.

Mike Anderson, the owner of the restaurant is not anti- children, in fact, he owns several other family-friendly restaurants. Anderson just feels like adults sometimes need a break from dining with kids and you know what, I completely agree with him. I have kids and sometimes I just want to go out to dinner with my wife without the ambiance of kids being kids.

In today's economy, going out to eat is expensive and you want to get the best possible experience for your money, right? Children are certainly not allowed in bars and some live entertainment clubs, so what's wrong with a restaurant having the same policy? There are plenty of restaurants for families that serve great food and are very highly rated, but there are some higher-end restaurants where taking children is as unfair to the kids as it is to the other patrons. Very few higher-end restaurants have kids' menus.

The idea of a 'no kid' environment is gaining in popularity and momentum. A few airlines have even adopted this policy. Parents who say that doing this is completely unfair and wrong have obviously lost their sense of fairness. It is perfectly reasonable for childless couples to want to go out and have a quiet evening together without having to deal with a family with unruly children at the next table.

Again, I am a parent and I truly love taking my young sons out to dinner even though sometimes their behavior is less than acceptable, but that is what kids do and expecting them to always act appropriately is just not reasonable. Kids always have and always will be kids and there is no way around that.

I would offer up one little tidbit to those people who don't like dining with children....stay out of those restaurants where families and kids are the focus...and if you have a problem with that notion because you feel like you have the right to eat anywhere you choose, it goes both ways. For the same reasons you want to enjoy a meal without screaming kids, parents have the right to take their kids out to eat without having to deal with YOUR stares and dirty looks. Think about it.

[MSN.com]