Pennsylvania Chick-fil-A bans kids under 16 from dining in restaurant without parent
LIMERICK, Pa. - A Chick-fil-A in Montgomery County is taking action after they say a series of "unacceptable behaviors" by kids and young teens has forced them to "protect" their guests, staff and building.
"We contemplated long and hard before posting this, but decided it was time," the Chick-fil-A on Buckwalter Road in Limerick said in a Facebook post that has since gathered significant support.
As of last week, all children under the age of 16 are now required to be accompanied by an adult when dining inside the Montgomery County fast food restaurant.
Chick-fil-A says the ban is in response to the repeated "unacceptable behaviors" of unaccompanied children and teens, including volume and explicit language, mistreatment of property, disrespect of employees and unsafe behaviors.
"As you can imagine, this is not a pleasant experience. We want to provide a comfortable and safe environment for our guests and our staff, and also to protect our building. Therefore, we cannot allow this to continue," read a post on the Chick-fil-A's Facebook page.
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Customers under the age of 16 are still allowed to come inside and purchase food, but they all must take it to go.
"To those unaccompanied children and teens that have visited us and acted appropriately, we thank you. But we also apologize. Due to the numerous extreme behaviors of many of your peers, we must make a blanket rule covering anyone under the age of 16."
Chick-fil-A concluded their announcement with a message to parents:
"Parents, we are not blaming you. Children and teens are learning to navigate the world free from supervision and often push the boundaries. We simply can’t let them push those boundaries anymore at our restaurant. We encourage you to talk to your children and ask about behaviors they have seen and perhaps participated in."
Chick-Fil-A Inc. released a statement Monday afternoon stating that most restaurants are individually owned, like the Limerick location. These individually owned restaurants set their own policies, according to Chick-Fil-A Inc.
Limerick police also did not have much to say about the situation, but they did tell FOX 29's Hank Flynn that they will not be adding patrols for the weekends.