Vegan restaurant bans children and breastfeeding mums for absurd reason
“Our male customers, they have not come back after they have seen that a couple of times.”
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A vegan restaurant in the US is facing severe backlash after they reportedly banned children and breastfeeding mothers from their restaurant.
Plantastic Indy, a vegan restaurant located in Indianapolis in the US, only opened a few months ago, but it’s already making serious headlines.
Opened by Taina and Gary, the American couple had plans to make their restaurant a leading plant-based spot for those who enjoy eating on the healthier side.
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Vegan restaurant bans children under five and breastfeeding mums
In order to create the restaurant of their dreams, the couple had “invested their life savings, careers, own health” and put their “dreams on hold” to put it all together.
They had a particular vision in mind: to create a restaurant with the hopes of fighting “climate change with food.”
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So far, their dream seems to be a success.
However, a recent post they shared online has got them into hot water, with many arguing it was unjustified and discriminatory.
The post, which has since been deleted, outlined the sacrifices the couple made to launch their restaurant, and through it all, they’ve masterfully created a space that makes them feel complete.
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“...we have this first and last brick and mortar at the Avenue,” the post read. “Super elegant, clean, and neat place to make sure everyone that decides to come feels welcome in our inviting place.”
Well, it turns out the place might not be so “inviting”, as there’s one thing that stands in their way from maintaining their dream space: children under five.
“Sadly, we can no longer welcome toddlers, newborns, or anyone under five years old,” the post read. Why? According to the couple, children under five would no longer “be allowed in order to keep and maintain our sanitary standards.”
It wasn’t just children that go the ban, but breastfeeding mothers as well.
Responding to the backlash before it even began, the restaurant owners clarified they “know many mums will get upset”, but they begged them to try and understand things from their point of view.
“Do not get upset at us, just at the ones that have come and left their dirty diapers on the table and put their breast out in public, [uncovered], to feed the child,” the post continued.
“That’s not the Plantastic Indy experience we want for the rest of our customers.”
Speaking to WIS TV, Gary doubled down on his argument and said he had never seen another woman breastfeeding in public, so he shouldn’t feel obligated to let women feed their own babies in his establishment.
“Neither of us have ever eaten at a restaurant where someone would openly expose a breast in public to feed,” he said.
“Only when in our own restaurant has this happened. One would think and expect common decency and respect for others would be the norm.”
His wife agreed, saying it was harmful to their male customers. “Our male customers, they have not come back after they have seen that a couple of times,” she said.
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“To call breastfeeding unsanitary is mind-boggling!”
The backlash was swift, and the post quickly got deleted following the outcry from parents across the Indiana city.
At first, many understood why the restaurant would ban people from service if they left their disgusting nappies lying around. However, that’s where the sympathy ended.
“I was like, ‘Yeah dirty diapers on tables is super gross,’” someone wrote. “Then I saw the breastfeeding comment. I wish I was still breastfeeding so I could go sit in front of their establishment with my ‘breast out’ nursing my baby.”
“Dirty diapers and breast-feeding are two different things,” someone agreed.
“To call breastfeeding unsanitary is mind-boggling!” said another. “A breastfeeding mother’s breasts will be one of the cleanest parts of her, as she’s protecting her baby!”
“You can’t say you are a vegan restaurant then s**t on women like this,” wrote a third. “I am so p**sed about this.”
“How is it the year 2024 and we still have this stigma against parents, specifically breastfeeding parents?”
Under Indiana law, a woman has the right to breastfeed anywhere she likes, be it at a restaurant, her home or in a park. However, it is not illegal to enforce a ban on children under the age of five, explained Jody Madeira, a professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
“There are no legal ramifications for a private owner to prevent families with children under a certain age from coming on the premises,” she said.
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