An Australian café owner kicked out a family of four over crying children, leading to a social media backlash and calls for a boycott, while opinions on the incident were divided.
Laura Edwards was a witness to the incident as she watched the management of Adele’s Café on Magnetic Island, Horseshoe Bay, threaten to call police if the family didn’t leave.
Laura told the DailyMail: “It is sad and shows we have a long way to go from children being seen and not heard and understanding the research into the brain development of children.”
An Australian café owner kicked out a family of four over crying children, and people had divided views
Image credits: Adele’s Cafe/Facebook
She further recalled: “He could have asked them if they needed any help or asked one of the parents to take the crying toddlers for a walk, but he just kicked them out.”
According to the establishment owner, Adrian Dalloste, the family’s two children had thrown a tantrum over having to share a single scoop of gelato.
He recalled his side of the story: “The older child showed his unhappiness by clearing our shelf off with all our shells and items on the counter.
“Then he picked up one of the metal flasks and threw it on the tiles – I was surprised it didn’t smash the tiles.
Laura Edwards, a witness to the incident, defended the family
Image credits: Townsville Bulletin
“My staff member looked at me like ‘what should we do,’ and I waved my hands like it will be over in a minute – but they didn’t leave. They sat at a table outside.”
Adrian revealed that the tantrum went on for 15 minutes before he went out to ask the family to leave.
The business owner stated: “The mother appeared shocked. The father told me it was bad business, and I told him, no, it is bad parenting.
“This is the first time in eight and a half years that I have needed to ask someone to leave. I don’t like to do it, but it was loud; the older one was absolutely screeching.”
Adrian revealed that he was confused Laura decided to jump in to defend the loud family. He said: “She came in and told us we were disgusting, but she was sitting around the other side and hadn’t witnessed it. Then she went on social media to post a video telling people not to come to see us.”
According to the establishment owner, Adrian Dalloste, the family’s two children had thrown a tantrum over having to share a single scoop of gelato
Image credits: adelescafeonmaggieisland
Nevertheless, Laura contradicted Adrian’s views, as she admitted: “I think sometimes you do get looked down upon when having kids, especially if they’re having tantrums and stuff, but their brains aren’t fully developed at that age, and they need help to process those emotions.”
Laura further explained that as a mother of three, she understood what it was like to experience children misbehaving in public.
She recalled: “I was sitting outside at the time of the tantrum and didn’t hear them. The doors are open the whole time – and I would have thought I would hear screaming and children throwing things. The only thing I could hear was the owner kicking them out.”
Image credits: adelescafeonmaggieisland
Despite Laura’s call for a boycott against the café, thousands of people slammed her, telling her to “mind her own business” or commenting to say that the manager’s actions would make them more likely to want to go to the café.
A person wrote: “Good on the business owner, I would have done the exact same thing. He has a duty to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience.
“I have kids, and when they were little, if they carried on like little brats, I would have packed up and left out of respect for others.”
A separate individual penned: “They will be stealing cars in Townsville in a few years. Keep off our island.”
An additional reader chimed in: “Responsible parents should either have taught said children how to behave and show respect for others or remove them from annoying others.”
Meanwhile, cafégoers praised Adrian’s services, as a person commented: “Lovely man! We were there yesterday with a lot of kids, and he was so nice to us all. Great customer service and we could not have had a nicer experience.”
Many people took Adrian’s side
As per the DailyMail, Laura has been stunned by the reaction to her complaint, stating her disappointment to see people agreeing with “treating families and children that way.”
Laura went on to reveal that the father of the agitated children was pleasant and told the café owners to “enjoy the rest of their shift” when he left.
A video of the incident, which has gone viral, caused Adrian’s wife to worry before noticing that the comments were mostly positive.
Adrian revealed: “Business has been good. The day after it all happened, we had double sales.”
On the official Adele’s Café Facebook page, a person commented: “Just continue with your friendly, welcoming ways.
“We always visit you when we are at Maggie. You were the one who treated my kids to whipped cream on top of a gelato. Now they expect it!”
