Restaurant Bans Kids 18 And Under

A couple of years ago several restaurants made headlines by banning kids under 6 years old, citing noise complaints from non-baby-having customers, but this year another restaurant is taking it a step further.

Sushi restaurant The Sushi Bar in Alexandria, Va., has announced that it is officially banning kids 18 and under, making it an adult-only sushi bar (Note: there's no mention of adult-only décor or anything like that). Instead, the owner Mike Anderson just wanted to give parents a break.

"We thought, 'These poor parents — they're helicopter parents, God love 'em — they're always doing this and that with their kids, and we thought, they need a break.' Not so much a break from their kids, but adjoining kids," Anderson told TODAY.com.

Of course, other restaurants have banned kids in the past, but usually the ban is directed at toddlers and babies. Instead, Anderson has banned all kids 18 and under so couples can have a chance to reconnect, without dealing with surly teenagers or fussy babies. "We thought it might be nice to have a place where young parents can come down and reconnect," Anderson said. The restaurant officially opened, and the no-kids policy has already caused plenty of commotion online, but the business plans to stay its course.

After the soft opening Saturday, Anderson says the feedback has been 90 percent positive; "Couples have been loving it — we think we're on the right track."