Restaurant's bizarre requirement sparks fiery debate about adults ordering off the kids' menu
That's exactly what TikTok user @Female.Flounder discovered when she went to place a phone order for an Italian restaurant her and her family eat at pretty often.
In a now-viral TikTok video, she explained that after putting in the order for her and her husband she asked for the spaghetti and meatballs off of the designated kids' menu for her eight-year-old daughter.
But she was told by the restaurant that she wasn't allowed to get anything off the children's section over the phone because the eatery couldn't verify whether or not it was actually for a youngster - and it sparked a massive debate.
'So I order it and they tell me that they don't take orders for kids' spaghetti and meatballs over the phone because they think it's adults buying the spaghetti and meatballs kids' portion and eating it themselves,' the woman said.
'So you can only [get] kids' spaghetti and meatballs if you eat at the restaurant.'
She ended the video by posing the question, 'Is this normal?' and social media users definitely had thoughts.
Many people flocked to the comment section to share their thoughts, launching a fiery argument about whether or not restaurants should require confirmation that kids' meals are for kids.
'Not normal and frankly asinine,' one TikTok user said of the restaurant's rule.
'Never heard of a restaurant doing this,' another chimed in.
A different user commented: 'That's so odd. If I'm buying something, then I don't need to be questioned. If you don't want my money... bye.'
Other users pointed out that even if it was an adult ordering off the kids' menu it wasn't hurting the restaurant in any way.
'Kids portions are less money because they are smaller portions and or less expensive food groups,' one said.
'So there should be no business reason for them caring if an adult eats it.'
Another TikTok user wrote: 'I'm so confused? Who cares who eats the kids meal? You are paying less because it's a smaller portion.
'Some elderly people needs kids portions as well. That's crazy business.'
It launched a fiery argument about whether or not restaurants should require confirmation that kids' meals are for kids
Some users even suggested that she cancel the order
Very few users explained that allowing adults to eat off of a kid's menu would be bad for business
Some users even added that the poster should have canceled her order immediately.
'Please tell me you said, "Cool cancel the entire order,"' one user wrote, to which the original poster replied, 'They offered me the option of getting a side of spaghetti and adding a meatball. So dumb.'
'A sale is a sale - you don't want to sell me a kids meal, I'll go somewhere else. Simple,' another user offered.
And while most comments mirrored similar sentiments, there were a select few who didn't find an issue with the restaurant's policy.
'Kid menus are usually a financial loss for the restaurant. The menus exist to entice in families,' one person offered.
'TikTok has normalized adults purchasing kids portions so I kinda get their reasoning but they should know when to enact this 'policy' and it's not when someone is ordering other stuff,' another said.
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'These are not necessarily children of migrant families,' Smith emphasizes. 'Maybe their families are sick, or they lost a job, or they do have a job, but it's not enough to pay the rent.' In Monterey county, about 13% of homeless students are migrants compared with the average of about 3% statewide. In some agricultural pockets around Salinas, Smith said the situation was even more dire. 'I know they had families staying in hothouses,' she said, referring to an incident in 2023 where a farmer was fined for having illegally converted greenhouses into makeshift housing for some 100 people, including many women and children as young as two. 'There were many, many families living together in those. They got shut down because it's illegal.' 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