One brewery’s policy sparked debate both online and amongst the residents of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, this past week. In a lengthy Facebook post, Eastside Brewing Company announced that only patrons age 21 or above will be allowed past 7 p.m. due to the business being bombarded with “unsupervised children.”
Brewery Defends Itself
“We never intended for our outdoor space to be a playground for kids,” reads the Facebook post, which was written by the owner of the establishment, Rich Hennosy. He goes on to detail issues that the bar has had in the past with patrons having to “dodge” kickballs and frisbees that are brought by people’s children. “Our patio swing had to be taken down as it was confused with an amusement park ride,” it says, “The ping pong table is broken and we rarely put corn hole out as the bags end up on the roof.”
The post also cites “a small group” of parents who get angry once they are told by staff to watch after their kids. “On a weekly basis we have an experience with a family who wants to disregard our policies,” it reads, “many of these parents are the ones who sit inside the taproom drinking beer while they let their kids go outside.”
The majority of the comments to Eastside Brewing Company’s Facebook post were wholly positive, with people praising the owner’s decision to bar children after 7 p.m. “Too many times I’ve been to breweries where kids are running wild so I appreciate this,” reads one comment. Another stated “It’s a brewery, not a daycare.”
New Policy Draws Negative Reviews
The review website Yelp tells another story, with parents leaving one star reviews after being told they could no longer have their kids at the brewery. “The kids had a football and a soccer ball with them,” one review reads, “we’ve been here before with the balls and had no issues.”
“Horrendous new policy of no kids,” reads another, “we’ve always loved this place [because] we can walk and it was always friendly for kids to be outside in the yard.” The owner of Eastside Brewing Company, though, seems to have a different take. “Some breweries are built for kids,” his Facebook post reads, “please understand this is not us.”
He stresses that as the business continues to grow with new partnerships, it needs to focus on its original purpose of brewing beer and catering to adults. “We want everyone who visits to have a pint in their hand,” the Facebook post reads, “we run a business that survives and thrives on the sale of alcoholic beverages.”
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