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A Bay Area restaurateur has gone viral for charging parents as much as $327 for failing to control their rowdy children at his Chinese eatery Chez Xue.
You You Xue, who operates two restaurants south of San Francisco, says he’s slapped financial penalties on parents of spirited tots who smashed credit card readers, carved “designs” into tables using utensils and broke teacups at his Foster City restaurant.
A parental advisory shared on Yelp and X instructs parents to “Please control your children.”
“Chez Xu is a family-friendly restaurant. However, we are not a playground,” the message reads.
Children are asked to remain seated and “running around, shouting, making noise with utensils” is explicitly banned.
One family was charged $327.03 after their child dropped a credit card reader, damaging the screen, while another parent was fined $109.38 after their youngster carved a table with a utensil. Another unlucky parent was charged $5.37 for a shattered teacup, according to the advisory.
Xue told SFGate that the response has been mostly positive.
“Dining out is expensive these days, so I know that the last thing people want is to spend money going out, then having that moment ruined by a loud child at the other table, who can’t be controlled by their own parents,” Xue told the outlet.
Parents aren’t charged if children break things entirely by accident — but he felt the policy was necessary after witnessing increasing bad behavior from customers in recent years, Xue said.
After the strict policy went viral, Xue was applauded by many commenters on X.
“Gentle parents” are raising mini terrorists change my mind,” wrote venture capitalist Camilo Acosta, referring to the trendy “gentle parenting” philosophy.
“They should give discounts to parents who publicly discipline their kids when they act up or for kids who behave wonderfully,” added another user named Zach Stevens.
Others questioned whether it was too petty to charge $5.37 for a broken teacup.
Foster City hotspot Chez Xue is known for its spicy Cilantro Beef, Godfather’s Noodles, and Green Onion Pancakes, according to Yelp.
Chez Xue’s sister restaurant, wonderful in Millbrae, was recognized in the 2021 Michelin guide.
Xue shared on X that bad behavior has dropped “precipitously” since he posted the notice.
“We’ve seen EVERYTHING – from parents trying to change their children’s diaper in the dining room to allowing them to run LAPS through the restaurant,” he wrote.
Xue said he’s happy the viral story “sparked dialogue” about what restaurants deal with.
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