Garden-themed caf

This is in response to Jim Brady’s letter in the March 16 edition about his experience at the local “garden-themed café.”

We strongly appreciate a restaurant owner who reminds patrons that they must manage their children’s behavior and, if unacceptable behavior continues, enforces the “rule” by asking such diners to leave. If children can’t sit at a table with adults and make it through the meal, they are not ready to dine in restaurants. If insensitive or uncaring parents or grandparents don’t know this and let their kids run amok, then the restaurant owner/manager must be responsible for curbing unruly behavior to 1) keep the kids safe, and 2) make the dining atmosphere more pleasant for the other customers.

If, as Mr. Brady says, he and his family were “on the kids to stay seated from past experiences,” that tells us that they knew in advance that the grandkids were expected to stay seated but attended the restaurant anyway and didn’t control the children’s behavior; nevertheless they were offended when such unacceptable behavior was brought to their attention. Nobody wants to admit that his or her kids or grandkids exhibit unruly behavior (or perhaps they are oblivious or think the behavior of their little ones is cute), but we have never seen the owner/manager of that restaurant reprimand kids or remind parents to curb the activity of children who are happily sitting at the table with adults in control.

With respect to the quality of the food at the restaurant that so offended Mr. Brady, we find it to be A+, offering healthy choices with an emphasis on freshness at a very reasonable cost. We dine there often and when our grandkids who are between the ages of 3 and 7 are visiting, they ask to go to that restaurant as their special treat where they are welcomed warmly but expected to remain seated at the table throughout the meal.