My Favorite Cafe Turned Kid Friendly...

Walked in last weekend, KIDS EVERYWHERE. All they did was announce a new lunch menu. Full of greasy, fast, fried items you can eat without utensils... Kid's food. With it being the weekend, it's hard not to see them out and about more, but I'd never seen so many at this particular place.

Most of them were behaved enough, but... I won't be going back. No way. I went into that particular coffee house to relax in the quiet. When I sat down, there was chicken tenders all over the fucking floor (obviously some brat's doing.) The staff were so busy with the new bullshit menu that they didn't have time to clean the dining area.
(It's called Muffin Break; it's in Australia and New Zealand. Large chains usually don't last long, if they do have a good thing going, because their greed gets the best of them.) Maybe it wasn't the best, but it worked for me.

This is why McDonald's isn't fast anymore. It's simply ridiculous that they offer more, and more, and more, all the time. The kitchen space doesn't grow with the new demand!
(Not to mention, it costs more than a dollar to raise a cow, create a bun to bake, grow garnishes, and pay workers, so why the hell do you expect 4 star service for a .000001 star purchase, but that's another story.)

Color me disappointed. I sent them a message, and maybe if they get a boatload more, all saying the same thing, they'll phase it out, but I don't have very high expectations.

Sorry for the rant, but... Urgh..

That's all you can do is let them know you won't be eating there anymore and why. If enough people do the same thing, maybe they will change their ways. It really bugs me these days that the whole world has to be a kids' playground. The adults just don't count for much these days, especially those who don't have kids. We just have to shut up and take it.

I didn't know muffin break HAD a lunch menu, all I ever see is the pre-cooked goods needing a reheat. A shopping center I liked has gone full family freindly. Kiddie pools, Lego huts, random change stations in stores, baby clothes stores littering the place. Ugh, won't likely shop there for some time unless I really have to. So I can understand the frustration involved when a local place turns breeder for the extra dosh. Bet they don't pay staff more to deal with it, or hire extra to keep up hygine standards.

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JohnDrake
It really bugs me these days that the whole world has to be a kids' playground.

Yes... : Sideshow Bob "urghurghlughulghugh" sound:

Exile- Oh man, I know what you mean. A shopping center here has AN ENTIRE ROW next to the entrance dedicated to "parents with prams", and it makes me SICK! If you can't even push a damn stroller... My God... Anyway, this Muffin Break had a large kitchen, and was not located in a shopping center, so maybe only some of them will sport the new menu. Don't care. The company could be making the move to import fryers to all locations, or something.

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suncard
Exile- Oh man, I know what you mean. A shopping center here has AN ENTIRE ROW next to the entrance dedicated to "parents with prams", and it makes me SICK! If you can't even push a damn stroller... My God... Anyway, this Muffin Break had a large kitchen, and was not located in a shopping center, so maybe only some of them will sport the new menu. Don't care. The company could be making the move to import fryers to all locations, or something.

My local muffin breaks are all pretty small, put in the most public, foot-traffic heavy spots of the centres. Only Indooroopilly had a nice one, but that got the boot. Yeah I know what you mean, all over the place around here. I call it retards with prams parking, because seriously, If you aren't able to use a normal car park once you've bred, you should have been stopped before you did, retards with prams park along the front.

Those parks were for disabled, then it was senior parking, now disabled parks are a row away and senior parks are retards with prams parking. I park in the R.W.P parks anyway, they cant tell if I have kids or not, im certainly old enough to have bred. I have permanent injuries that make walking painful but I cant park in disabled without a permit. So why can retards with prams, who are perfectly healthy humans, who chose their handicap, get to park closest to the door?

Once I parked there and some moo came trotting up demanding I show proof of children. So I pointed at the baby grate in the back seat, said I was picking them up after (didn't tell her I bought it for my puppy). Some time later I went to park in one without realising it was 3pm in the afternoon, another moo in some big ass car with 4 kids cut me off, then started ranting her arse off, with all the magical swear-words of the rainbow, she tried to swerve into my car twice. All in front of her kids, in the car she weaponized mind you.

Im like na fuck this, I can get groceries later, wasnt willing to leave my car un-attended with a raging moo and 4 dumplings loose in the car park. My own mother says she wouldn't park in those R.W.P parks if we were still little, there an embarrassment to humanity. Just wait though, soon enough their will be (mothers/fathers/parents with kids) only shopping centre's, or highway lanes, or train carts. Although we CF could only wish they took it that far. GTFO of all the other locations, instead of making every company everywhere bow down to them everywhere we go.

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suncard

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JohnDrake
It really bugs me these days that the whole world has to be a kids' playground.

Yes... : Sideshow Bob "urghurghlughulghugh" sound:

Exile- Oh man, I know what you mean. A shopping center here has AN ENTIRE ROW next to the entrance dedicated to "parents with prams", and it makes me SICK! If you can't even push a damn stroller... My God... Anyway, this Muffin Break had a large kitchen, and was not located in a shopping center, so maybe only some of them will sport the new menu. Don't care. The company could be making the move to import fryers to all locations, or something.

That is ridiculous. In previous comments, I've said that about the only thing we can do is take our business elsewhere, but when everywhere is like this, where do we go then? Soon there will be no more elsewhere. Best to just stay home.

yup, the whole damn world is now a daycare. I saw a woman pushing a baby stroller into a movie theater Friday night at about 7:00. the only 2 movies showing were the james bond movie (spectre?) and spotlight, a movie about priests abusing altar boys.

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exile
Once I parked there and some moo came trotting up demanding I show proof of children. So I pointed at the baby grate in the back seat, said I was picking them up after (didn't tell her I bought it for my puppy). Some time later I went to park in one without realising it was 3pm in the afternoon, another moo in some big ass car with 4 kids cut me off, then started ranting her arse off, with all the magical swear-words of the rainbow, she tried to swerve into my car twice. All in front of her kids, in the car she weaponized mind you.

Urgh. What a piece of shit. My dad has related stories to me about how he was tempted by a car that pulled out in front of him, and he needed a new car, but wouldn't dare, because I was in the car with him.
That does remind me of a humorous road story, though. One summer day, I was driving home with the windows down, and heard some kids crying. Nothing special, but it was accompanied by an adult viciously reprimanding them. I thought it was from the surrounding neighborhood, but when it continued, I realized it was a mother screaming at her kids. She was using a nasty voice I'd heard many times by my aunt, who only ever yelled at her young terrors, and never got up to correct their behavior, or properly discipline them. When we were stopped at a red light with her still going, I stuck my head out the window, and yelled , "STOP BEING A SHITTY MOM!!"
She was stunned into silence. We heard no more, and everyone in all of the other cars were snickering and nodding, because they heard it, too.
I get it- kids are rage inducing sometimes, and you're tempted to lose your shit. I wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't been carrying on like that for at least 10 minutes, and I hadn't seen that scenario before.

Maybe you could find a new café that serves stuff only adults appreciate?

There are a bunch of ethnic restaurants nearby. Serving Korean bar-be-que, German, Japanese, Thai, etc.
Usually I grab a to go order. I rarely see kidz due to the type of food but I seldom eat outside the house anyways.
There is something to be said for always knowing the atmosphere is going to be quiet.

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suncard
That does remind me of a humorous road story, though. One summer day, I was driving home with the windows down, and heard some kids crying. Nothing special, but it was accompanied by an adult viciously reprimanding them. I thought it was from the surrounding neighborhood, but when it continued, I realized it was a mother screaming at her kids. She was using a nasty voice I'd heard many times by my aunt, who only ever yelled at her young terrors, and never got up to correct their behavior, or properly discipline them. When we were stopped at a red light with her still going, I stuck my head out the window, and yelled , "STOP BEING A SHITTY MOM!!"
She was stunned into silence. We heard no more, and everyone in all of the other cars were snickering and nodding, because they heard it, too.
I get it- kids are rage inducing sometimes, and you're tempted to lose your shit. I wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't been carrying on like that for at least 10 minutes, and I hadn't seen that scenario before.

Priceless, I love it, wish I could have been there to see it