Last year, when someone in search of controversy noticed a sign at Monterey's Old Fisherman's Grotto (375-4604) on Fisherman's Wharf that prohibited loud and crying babies, it touched off an incredible media circus.
When it appeared the story wouldn't go away, I weighed in, admitting, among other things, I hate babies (wink wink).
People freaked. They screamed discrimination. On the Facebook page calling for a boycott is a picture of longtime owner-operator Chris Shake overlaid with the words “I NEVER WAS A CHILD.”
He was and is son of Sabu, the wharf’s enduring icon. A replica of Sabu stands watch next to the chowder sample station, and the offending sign.
The outrage touched off the biggest food “story” to come out of our area in years. I wish I didn’t have to type that.
But this story went to Australia, Brazil, Canada and England. It drew interview requests from Fox Network’s Fox and Friends, NBC’s The Today Show, CNN, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, KGO and, according to estimates from Shake, more than 70 other radio and TV stations in just 48 hours. (He declined.) He has counted 1,200 stories total.
“[Sean] Hannity called my mother’s home wanting to interview me,” Shake says.
That piece, "Bounce, Baby: Old Fisherman’s Grotto panic educates us on eating out," just won a national award on Saturday, July 18 at the Association of Alternative News Media annual conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
And now we have another lens into what we should naturally call Babygate (not to be confused with the mesh half door separating the toddler from where she shouldn't go).
Some highlights from the restaurant owner's version of the incident in which she told a crying kid to shut up (!) appear here.
On whether it was the right choice on how to handle it (but you gotta watch the video):
"Life's full of choices. And you got to live with all of them. I chose to yell at the kid. It made her shut up. Which made me happy. It made the staff happy. It made the other 75 people in the restaurant happy."
On whether she was sorry:
"I don't know if sorry is the proper word. I may have used poor judgement."
On the parents:
"They didn't want to leave. They didn't even seem to notice she was crying....[After she told the kid 'This needs to stop'] they said, '[Gasp] Are you screaming at a baby?' 'Yes I am.'"
(1) comment
I believe the restaurant owner did the right thing, maybe a little harshly in hindsight. People pay a lot of money to have dinner out and to enjoy the ambiance of the environment. When parents ignore their screaming kids, it ruins the experience for the rest of us. Be responsible parents and attend to your crying child, whether in a restuarant, the movies or the grocery store. PLEASE!! If a restaurant continues to have trouble and puts up a sign that crying kids are not allowed, yay! Take your screaming kids somewhere more child friendly if you can't quiet them.
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