babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Restaurant Tries to Kick Out Shoeless … Infant
Citing health concerns, the manager of a Burger King in suburban St. Louis tried to kick out a customer for not wearing shoes. Store policy is, of course, no shoes, no shirt, no service.
Problem is, the shoeless offerender was a six-month-old non-walking baby. Maybe I have issues with authority, but can’t there possibly be an exception made for, you know, a baby?
Apparently, there can. A spokesperson for the Burger King in Sunset Hills, Mo., is apologizing for the incident.
Here’s what happened:
Jennifer Frederich was waiting in line with her mother and her daughter Kaylin. The cashier was taking their order.
“The manager was standing next to him said, ‘you can order “to go” but you’re going to have to leave if she doesn’t have shoes on’. He said, ‘it’s against health code’,” Frederich said.
They ordered.
“The guy was still saying, ‘that lady is still here with that baby without shoes’,” Frederich said. “I just looked at him and I said, ‘that’s my daughter. She doesn’t own shoes. She’s only 6 months old’… she doesn’t walk. She’s not touching the ground. So there’s no reason for her to have shoes on.”
What’s kind of funny is that she tried to put socks on the baby’s feet to, what, placate the manager, who, drunk with power, I’m guessing, nonetheless threatened to call the police. So they just crammed down their lunch and kind of slinked out of there.
And then posted about the incident on Facebook. Hilarity ensues.
Frederich and her mom were leading 25 kids in the church youth group to a big Christian rock concert at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. They had stopped for lunch at the Burger King.
After corporate found out about the run in, they issued an apology and invited the mom/grandma/daughter trio back to the restaurant for “they royal treatment.” Better put some glass slippers on the baby, just in case.
More Posts
Is This Girl’s Food Fight With the Obamas Fair?
Is Non Custodial Mothering the New Way to Parent
Expressing Motherhood Tells Motherhood Like it is
They Say: Thousands of 3-Year-Olds Depressed
Mother Develops Allergy to her Own Baby
Breastfeeding Moms Pose for Provocative Calendar
Photo: cancouncil.org
Go Back To Strollerderby
0 Comments
[...] It’s always a challenge to take a baby or toddler out to eat. And that’s putting aside the (remote) possibility that the restaurant will go all whack job and boot your kid for not wearing shoes. [...]
The Best (and Worst) of Dining Out With Baby | Strollerderby commented on Aug 10 09 at 8:34 am[...] Restaurant Tires to Kick Out Shoeless … Infant [...]
Grieving Father Almost Buries Son Alive | Strollerderby commented on Aug 13 09 at 11:01 amCali Mom commented on Aug 06 09 at 12:04 pmAlthough I do think this is ridiculous, restaurants have to be very cautious about violating health codes. You’d be surprised at the kinds of things they get dinged on. If the manager gave it much thought, he might have said this was OK, but he probably was less drunk on power than nervous about a violation.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Aug 06 09 at 12:09 pmBaby feet are so much more delicious than Burger King anyway. Nom nom nom!
Diane commented on Aug 06 09 at 12:30 pmNervous about a violation? Come on, really?
Bec commented on Aug 06 09 at 1:18 pmHave you been to a Burger King lately? I would think that unshod babies are the least of their concern when it comes to health code.
PlumbLucky commented on Aug 06 09 at 3:27 pmHeh, my son believes that removing his shoes is a funny game (he is 11 months, and doesn’t yet walk). Wonder what the manager would think of that :-)
ChrissyDS commented on Aug 06 09 at 4:18 pmWe had a similar incident happen at a California Pizza Kitchen, when our daughter was about 6 months old… we sat down to order and (not being the types to keep her in a carseat) sat her down on the table while we got ourselves together. Manager came by, all in a huff, because she didn’t have shoes on and couldn’t be sitting on the table! It was one of the weirdest experiences of my parenting life.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Aug 06 09 at 9:18 pmThis just makes me want to go to that Burger King and leave a poop diaper on the counter.
Ronald commented on Aug 07 09 at 9:25 amUnless they are gutting the restaurant and instituting a new menu, I’m afraid the “royal treatment” at Burger King will do nothing to mend the wounds. What are they going to do, offer her to upsize her meal?
junebaby commented on Sep 07 09 at 12:14 pmHas this man taken a close look at some of his employees. I am a fast food/ retail worker myself right now and I am ashamed at some of things that go on behind the counter…Feet should be the least of ones worries.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0