The last thing Jen Bennett probably wanted was bad publicity for her popular San Francisco restaurant. But that’s exactly what has happened after her anti-toddler tirade on Facebook blew up in her face.
“This may shock you but choosing to have children means you can’t go out to eat for roughly 3 years,” the Zazie restaurant owner said in a post. “Please. Accept your fate.”
“Toddlers are satanic and it’s exhausting. I’m dangerously close to child abuse.”
KPIX reports that those comments were meant to be private but ended up on a public group page and snowballed from there.
Bennett allegedly explained Thursday that the comments were inspired by a bad experience at a sushi restaurant next door.
There are a number of options Bennett can take to reduce any future frustrations and at least one establishment in Houston, Texas has taken a creative approach.
Ana Beaven is the owner of Cuchara, a restaurant full of authentic Mexican art. The establishment also took a Mexican idea – postcards with instructions on them – to approach how to get kids to behave during a meal.
“Children at Cuchara don’t run or wander around the restaurant,” one postcard said in a KHOU report. “They stay seated and ask their parents to take them to the restroom. They don’t scream, throw tantrums or touch the walls, murals, windows…”
“They are respectful!”
WATCH: Texas restaurant using Mexican postcards to promote good child behaviour
While some parents may understand Bennett’s frustration, others aren’t as accepting.
“If you have children, and you want to go out to dinner, I think that you should be able to take them,” one parent told the CBS affiliate.
Bennett, San Francisco’s 2010 Female Entrepreneur of the Year, is known for more than just her food: First Lady Michelle Obama recognized her for providing employees with health benefits and a 401(k) plan.
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