No ‘Loud’ Children Allowed in California Restaurant

One restaurant on the Monterey Peninsula’s historic Fisherman’s Wharf is turning heads with a policy aimed at preventing patrons from bringing loud children or infants into the eatery.

The Old Fisherman’s Grotto has explicitly laid out its policy with both signage and on its website stating that no high chairs or booster seats will be permitted on the premises, while loud children and crying babies are not allowed to sit in the dining room.

The policy, which the Grotto has had in place for at least two years, has been met with shock and disbelief from tourists and parents visiting Monterey.

“I think kids need to know how to behave in restaurants, and if you don’t take them to them, they don’t know how to behave, and they shouldn’t be kept hidden away, so I think it’s ridiculous,” tourist Teresa Colombani told KSBW news.

However, the restaurant’s owner is sticking to his guns.

“If a place has the rules, that’s what the rules are,” owner Chris Shake told the broadcaster. “You go in and abide by the rules or you find a place more suitable for you.”

Despite the criticism from the occasional passerby, Shake said the policy has yet to affect his business.

“I haven’t had a down year for over 20 years, and our business continues to grow.”