Restaurant's 'Bad Parenting' Surcharge Stirs Controversy

BLUE RIDGE, GA — Parents who can’t, or won’t, control their unruly children should find a place other than the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant in Blue Ridge to grab a bite to eat, or risk what’s being called on social media a “bad-parenting surcharge.”

Or, as several other people suggested, do the restaurant owners simply have the guts others wish they did to stand up for other diners’ expectations for a peaceful meal? Toccoa sells its tranquil setting along the Toccoa River in the Blue Ridge Mountains as part of the dining experience and says it simply wants parents to keep their kids in check.

The popular rural Georgia eatery warns on its menu that it reserves the right to impose a surcharge for“ adults unable to parent.” It’s unclear from the menu how much of a surcharge the restaurant might impose — “$$$,” it says. The bottom line is, “no respect, no service.”

Customer Lyndsey Landmann, who lives in Florida, told NBC’s “Today” show that she and her husband, Kyle, recently visited the restaurant with four other couples. There were 11 children, who ranged in age from 3 to 8, seated at the table, all acting like well-behaved children.

They were surprised when restaurant owner Tim Richter approached the table and pointed to the warning on the menu.

“At first,” Landmann, 36, told the morning news program, “I thought he was gonna compliment us and be like, ‘But you won’t be charged because your kids were so well-behaved.’ ”

Landmann told “Today” that, according to Richter, they were charged a $50 fee because the kids were “too loud” and were “running around outside.” She said the kids were chaperoned by an adult the entire time they were outside the restaurant.

A man who answered the phone at the restaurant Friday morning declined to identify himself, but told Patch that until a customer provides us with a receipt showing the surcharge, he won’t discuss it.

“It’s a false narrative,” the person said repeatedly, declining to answer specific questions, including what experiences with parents and unruly children prompted the warning on the menu.

The “Today” show reporter who made a call to the restaurant was told, “We’re not going to comment on a policy we’ve had for years. We just want to live in the woods and cook.”

Richter told Atlanta news station WSB that he started the policy a few years ago. He claimed he has never actually charged parents with unruly kids, but did hand out a warning to a group whose children were “running all over the restaurant.”

“We want parents to be parents,” he told the news station.

Anne Cox, who stopped by a few days ago with her family at the restaurant, a popular tourist draw in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, told WSB she thinks the policy could motivate more parents to better control their kids.

Toccoa Riverside Restaurant’s Google reviews show that as they described it to “Today,” the Landmanns’ experience wasn’t isolated.

“My wife was rocking the baby (not crying, just to make him sleep) and this ‘manager’ told her that you don’t do that in a fancy restaurant,” one person wrote.

“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.”

Another reviewer said that he and his wife were charged the $50 fee because their children had misbehaved. But, he wrote, “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.”

On the whole, Google reviews for Toccoa Riverside Restaurant are positive, praising the atmosphere, menu and staff.

Said a dad of a not-always-quiet young toddler, “My kid is not loud child for being 20 months old but can still have his moments, and everybody was cool about it. Super kid-friendly!”

On TripAdvisor, reviews were mixed as well.

“You charge an extra fee for kids speaking and laughing too loud — in your opinion. So do you flea and tick check all the dogs that are welcome to sit and scratch around the food?” one reviewer said of the restaurant’s pooch-friendly patio. “I’d rather sit by a laughing child than a fur-flying, infested animal. …”

Another review countered: “Kudos to the owner, Tim Richter, for being so inclusive, respectful and considering all his patrons, including those who don’t bring children to his restaurant. Your policy for charging a fee for poor parenting is genius.”

On Yelp, one person said the best of parents can’t always predict how their children are going to act in a busy restaurant.

“You can’t just charge extra money to people because one child might be a little fussy or something like that.” the person wrote. “Just imagine when you charge someone for a child you deem ‘out of control’ and apparently they have autism or ADHD. You’re gonna look like a real piece of (expletive) when that happens and there’ll be public outrage.”

Praising Richter, another Yelp reviewer said the bad-parenting fee should be called a “whiner’s fee.”

“Absolutely loved the location and food,” another person wrote. “I love the fact that this owner is willing to do something when adults can't control their children.”

In a discussion on Reddit, one person praised the restaurant’s initiative and thinks more should consider similar policies.

“I’ve been out to eat more than once where parents were literally letting their kids wild,” the person wrote. “Not sure if this is the answer, but something definitely should be done about such parents.”

“Good, more places need something like this,” another person chimed in. “Parents who bring their kids into a restaurant … letting them do whatever they want is annoying as hell.”

Take a breath before reacting, another Reddit user advised.

“It’s truly one thing if the kids are being hazards and screaming, with the parents blatantly ignoring them, but most of the time, I see parents actively trying to keep things under control and take children outside if they’re being disruptive,” the person said. “The really young kids are especially hard because they don’t understand yet. If you hate children that much as a business owner, turn it into a bar or go into something else that doesn’t involve children.”