Beloved Ohio brewery takes no-nonsense action against children after blaming them for ruining the vibe

An Ohio brewery has taken the unusual step of banning children under the age of 16 from its premises in response to “a few bad apples” causing problems for guests.

Forest City Brewery’s Jay Demagall shared the new policy on Facebook over the weekend, describing it as a “tough decision,” but one he had to make.

“Over the last 8.5 years we have tried to implement a policy that allows children to be present in the brewery as long as they are supervised by a guardian,” he said.

‘Because of a few bad apples and irresponsible parents, we no longer allow children under the age of 16 on our premises.’

Demagall admitted his decision would be “disappointing” for some regulars who were used to bringing their children.

But he said staff “can no longer afford to stand by the irresponsible parents who continue to put their children, our customers and our business at risk.”

Demagall admitted his decision would be “disappointing” for some regulars who were used to bringing their children

“Simply put, we’re a brewery. Our business is to serve great beer, food and other alcoholic beverages to ADULTS,” he said.

‘To be honest, children have never been part of our business plan or our atmosphere.

“Our staff is not equipped to supervise and care for children if their parents treat the brewery as a playground.”

Demagall shared details about two other local breweries that allow children, giving disappointed customers another option.

The decision was well received by the visitors, many of whom indicated that they were fed up with parents not taking responsibility for their children in public.

Someone wrote: ‘Other adults having fun do NOT want to hear your children (or any children) so they left their children at home with a babysitter.’

And another added: ‘I have two children, love them very much and I’m glad I have a place to go where they can’t be!’

A third said: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled about this! No screaming, unsupervised children!’

“As an adult, it’s really nice to go somewhere and not have noisy, needy, snotty kids running around while their parents ignore them. A brewery is not a babysitter.”

The decision was well received by visitors, many of whom said they were fed up with parents not taking responsibility for their children in public.

Another visitor said he “supports and applauds the decision.”

There’s nothing wrong with adults having some places that are adults-only (or close to it), just as it’s fine to have places that are specifically for children.

“Can you imagine if adults without kids went to Chuck E Cheese just to drink? There would be an uproar, and rightly so. Why should adult spaces be held to a different standard?”

However, there were also disappointed visitors who said Demagall’s announcement had thrown their future plans into disarray.

Someone wrote: ‘There are so few places to eat and drink in Cleveland that we can go to with our son.

“Normal restaurants are just not designed well for kids. Forest City was one of the few places that was. It’s open and spacious. There’s a lot of nature around.

“Really bummed that there is now one less place we can go (and spend our money). I also had no idea that kids were never really welcome. We would never have taken him there if we had known that kids weren’t part of the ‘vibe.'”

Another said he “hates this news.”

‘We were already visiting our daughter in the backyard on Sundays a few weeks ago, before she could crawl through it.

“As a family that loves live music, this was a unique destination. I respect that it’s your decision, but we’ll have to deviate to other family-friendly places that are easily walkable.”