Restaurant That Banned Kids Under Age Five Experiences Boom In Reservations

You probably won't find a kids' menu at Caruso's in Mooresville, North Carolina, but you will find long lines and rapidly filling reservations. The "classy Italian" restaurant made waves last week when it announced that the restaurant would be banning children under the age of five.

The announcement sparked a debate about whether the ban was reasonable or ridiculous. But the restaurant's owners and managers now contend that their moment in the spotlight has caused a surge in reservations despite the hundreds of angry Yelp and Facebook reviews from irate parents who would prefer to dine out with their darlings.

The entire debacle started with an incident that proved to be the "straw that broke the camel's back," when a little girl was using her iPad with the sound on high. Despite repeated requests from staff to turn the device down or off, the parents refused, and the family was asked to leave the restaurant.

"Banning children has always been a topic in the industry and every owner says, 'I wish I could do it,'" Yoshi Nunez, the restaurant's manager, told The Washington Post. "Our owner has the full support of the staff. We work here to make a living, too, and we support our owner 100 percent."

Daily diners at Caruso's used to average about 50 and have now increased to around 80, according to The Washington Post.