Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Adele’s Cafe
Topics: Australia, Food and Drink, Viral
Emily Brown
An Australian cafe owner has doubled down on their decision to kick out a family with two children who were crying and allegedly throwing things around.
Adrian Dalloste, the co-owner of Adele’s Cafe in Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island, decided to ask the family to leave after watching the tantrum unfold for around 15 minutes.
The children were thought to aged around two and three, and are said to have become upset after being told they would have to share an ice cream.
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"The older child showed his unhappiness by clearing our shelf off with all our shells and items on the counter," Dalloste told FEMAIL.
"Then he picked up one of the metal flasks and threw it on the tiles. I was surprised it didn't smash the tiles."
Dalloste said he'd never had to ask someone to leave his cage before in his eight and a half years, but as 'the older [child] was absolutely screeching', he decided to take a stand.
His decision to ask the family to leave sparked outrage from an onlooker named Laura Edwards, who branded the owners as 'disgusting' after watching the scene unfold.
But Dalloste doubled down on his decision in interviews after the incident, telling Townsville Bulletin: "I only intervened because the children were vandalising the shop and disrupting other customer."
The owner also told news.com.au he 'could count on one hand the number of bad customer incidents' he'd had since he began operating the cafe.
“I’m lucky to get even one a year,” he added.
Dalloste admitted he was confused when Edwards confronted him. The encounter led to a heated argument in the middle of the cafe.
However, Edwards expressed belief she had the right to intervene as a customer and a mother.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Edwards said: "It is sad and shows we have a long way to go from children being seen and not heard and understanding the research into the brain development of children.
"He [Dalloste] could have asked them if they needed any help or asked one of the parents to take the crying toddlers for a walk, but he just kicked them out."
Dalloste noted that Edwards arrived after he first asked the family to leave, indicating she hadn't seen the events leading to his request.
Though his response wasn't welcomed by Edwards, the owner has received support from social media users who believe he did the right thing.
Responding to the story in a Facebook comment, one person wrote: "Good on the business owner, I would of [sic] done the exact same thing. He has a duty to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience.
"I have kids and when they were little, if they carried on like little brats I would of [sic] packed up and left out of the respect for others."
Dalloste has claimed that after the family initially refused to leave, he warned them he'd need to call the police to potentially remove them.