California burger joint bans under-18s from dining without parents, saying young people threw fries at staff and stuck candy to the ceiling

• A California restaurant has banned under-18s unless they are accompanied by an adult.
• Red Rooster Burgers & Brew said teenagers had abused staff and vandalized the premises.
• “Some of their actions are unlawful and we won’t allow it,” the restaurant said in a Facebook post.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

A California burger joint has banned under-18s, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, due to what it described as unacceptable behaviour by young people.

Red Rooster Burgers & Brew, which is located in Garden Valley, announced the decision in a recent Facebook post, saying it had tolerated the behaviour for two years.

It described the young customers in question as “kiddos” and said it had voiced its concerns on multiple occasions.

After implementing rules that would still allow the customers to enjoy a trip to the restaurant and spend time with friends, it became clear that their conduct was going to continue, it said.

The post added that it was not the owners’ intent to “exile the youth in our community” – but it needed to protect its property.

The restaurant’s post included a long list of disruptive actions, which the owners said they witnessed. These included: fries being thrown at employees; condoms being left in toilets; candy being stuck to the ceilings, and condiments being squirted into the wrong bottles and thrown around the premises.

It also accused the young customers of sitting on the baby-changing tables in the restrooms while “making out.”

“Some of their actions are unlawful and we won’t allow it,” the restaurant said in its Facebook post.

Other reasons the restaurant cited were “marijuana being smoked in the bathroom” and kids stealing soda from the fridge.

According to the restaurant, the surrounding neighborhood streets had also been defaced. “Recently a neighbor’s Halloween display was vandalized. We found pieces of it in our parking lot,” the post added.

The restaurant did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Red Rooster Burgers & Brew’s troubles echo those of Burgerville, a popular regional chain. In August, Burgerville said vandalism and damage had occurred at its southeast Portland branch. It temporarily closed the branch as a result.