Royersford Chick-fil-A bans kids under 16, citing vandalism and employee disrespect

A Montgomery County Chick-fil-A has banned children under the age of 16 from dining in the restaurant without an adult.

The Royersford location of the chicken chain posted the policy update to its Facebook page last week, writing that staff at the franchise “contemplated long and hard” before deciding to join a movement of child-free restaurants.

The Chick-fil-A’s post said the policy was based on several factors, including noise issues, vandalism, and instances where teenagers have allegedly cursed or made fun of staff when asked to leave.

“This is not a pleasant experience,” the statement read. “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.”

Unaccompanied minors can still purchase food from the Chick-fil-A but must take their orders to go.

The Royersford Chick-fil-A could not be reached for comment regarding how the policy will be enforced. Chick-fil-A’s corporate office did not immediately respond to questions about how the policy originated.

The Facebook post has received more than 500 comments, the majority of which are positive.

“I don’t blame you for making this decision, however difficult it may be,” wrote one Facebook user.

“I 100% agree with this post,” wrote another. “Simple discipline and respect need to be taught from an early age.”

The Royersford Chick-fil-A is the latest restaurant to restrict minors on its premises.

When Kensington’s Human Robot Brewery announced in January that it was banning children from dining in the taproom after 2 p.m, the decision was met with a raucously supportive comment section. Meanwhile, Nettie’s House of Spaghetti’s — a trendy Italian restaurant in Monmouth County, N.J. — recently announced child ban went so viral Yelp had to disable reviews as people took to the page in glee and ire to discuss the decision.

» READ MORE: A Kensington brewery says no kids after 2 p.m., and customers applaud

It’s all part of a growing discussion about the extent to which child-free folks want to opt in to dealing with the unintended consequences of being around other people’s kids. The debate extends to babies on planes, child-free neighborhoods, and adults-only vacations as parents are confronting pandemic-induced behavioral issues. Studies have shown an uptick in antisocial behaviors following COVID-19 shutdowns, forcing authority figures to reconfigure how they discipline children.

“Parents, we aren’t blaming you. Children and teens are learning to navigate the world free from supervision and often push the boundaries.” read the Royersford Chick-fil-A’s post. “We simply can’t let them push those boundaries anymore at our restaurant.”