Children Banned From Tampa Pizza Restaurant

TAMPA, FL. - Troy Taylor says he doesn’t hate kids. But he won’t allow any in his Seminole Heights craft beer and pizza restaurant.

Taylor said an incident last week prompted him on Tuesday to place a sign on the front door of his Hampton Station restaurant: “No Children.”

“I definitely think that sales are gonna take a dip,” Taylor told News Channel 8.

“We had an incident last week where some kids were endangering themselves and others,” said Taylor.
He said he doesn’t feel he should single out parents so the rules stands for everybody.

Watch Now: Owner Bans Kids From His Beer And Pizza Restaurant

“I haven’t got much sleep the past four or five days really, because of this. ‘Cause this is my livelihood,” said Taylor.

A restaurant employee said Friday that the ban applies to small children. She said the restaurant is close to Nebraska Avenue and could pose a danger for kids. "We have had parents come in and they were not supervising their kids," said the employee, who did not want to be identified.

Taylor has already received some criticism, saying the rule is too harsh. And the backlash on social media was swift, others endorsed the prohibition.

"I saw today a sign displayed on the front door " No Children". Really!!! This isn't some dive, it's a neighborhood pizza place. Yes they serve beer but so does many restaurants. Amazing," a poster on Yelp said.

"Kids have been banned. Shame because used to be one of our favorites. Won't be back with or without our well behaved youngster!" said Lisa G. from Tampa.

Another poster had a different view. Dan M. from Seminole Heights wrote: "I was going to give them a 4 but since the place is now kid free; it's bumped up to a 5!"

Stephanie Gallego has a young son and lives in the neighborhood. She tried to visit the restaurant with her son earlier this week but spotted the sign.

“Kids can be a ruckus sometimes, but if you’re trying to market in our community, I wouldn’t necessarily ban kids. I would possibly talk to the parents of them,” said Gallego.

Read the full News Channel 8 story here.

Image via Pixabay