Should SODA Ban Kids?

dailyheights · March 2006

Sounds like SODA on Vanderbilt Ave. now has their own "Stroller Manifesto" -- an angry screed written by a non-parent who can't tolerate irresponsible parents who bring their babies/toddlers to bars. Apparently, this angry customer wants Toly to ban kids from his establishment.

From what a DH regular told us yesterday: the complaint was specifically in response to a gathering that took place on the same night as a recent DH happy hour... though it was only indirectly related to a DH happy hour. We haven't seen the letter yet, but it apparently contains some wild and somewhat humorous inaccuracies about what took place that night.

The opinions of this irate customer aside, the facts are as follows:

Toly absolutely encourages parents to bring kids to SODA...

The waitstaff is almost universally accommodating to kids...

They have lots of kid-friendly food ...

The kids are generally out of there no later than 8 or 9 pm, latest...

The kids are being supervised, even if they seem to be running amok through the back room...

And in fact, "Music for Aardvarks" holds kids music classes at SODA at least 3 times a week.

So unquestionably, SODA is a kid-friendly bar.

Whoa... "kid-friendly bar"? The concept is certainly going to be quite confusing (and offensive) to Marge in Wisconsin... but kid-friendly bars are here, and you're going to have to get used to them. Families want to hang out together. European countries have a long tradition (see Germany: Beer Gardens) of establishments where both kids and parents alike can hang out and socialize, and yes, alcohol may be served.

ana.log · March 2006

I was with a date at Soda a few weeks ago and he seemed rather shocked and slightly put-off to see kids there (some event was happening in the backroom and lots of folks had kids with them). I guess kids in bars is an odd concept to some folks, but I think it adds to and is a pleasant side effect of the great personality of Soda.

It doesn't bother me in the slightest, personally.

quig · March 2006

Intrigued, where is this manifesto?

kevin_on_putnam · March 2006

jeez, maybe the angry screed writer should lay off the booze.

brookfetish · March 2006

Perhaps they should turn the back room into a place for MAKING kids.

emily · March 2006

Soda serves food and is open early in the day. The kids are always gone by 9 or so, so what's the problem?

I'd like to see the manifesto as well, especially if the inaccuracies are humorous. There were only about five people in the back room who weren't with us, it feels like...wonder who did the complaining.

stacey · March 2006

EmilyM wrote: Soda serves food and is open early in the day. The kids are always gone by 9 or so, so what's the problem?

I'd like to see the manifesto as well, especially if the inaccuracies are humorous. There were only about five people in the back room who weren't with us, it feels like...wonder who did the complaining.

I have to agree with Emily here. I am one of the parents who brings her 9 year old son with her to Happy Hour sometimes and we are out of there by like 9:00 - 9:30. My son sits in the back with us and not at the bar. I like that he is getting to meet my friends and interacting with them. I personally don't see how this could be a problem.

dailyheights · March 2006

quig wrote: Intrigued, where is this manifesto?

Toly has it. He showed it to Muk.

BrookFetish wrote: Perhaps they should turn the back room into a place for MAKING kids.

Thank you. Very funny.

EmilyM wrote: There were only about five people in the back room who weren't with us, it feels like...wonder who did the complaining.

hmm... ana.log's date???

ana.log wrote: I was with a date at Soda a few weeks ago and he seemed rather shocked and slightly put-off to see kids there (some event was happening in the backroom and lots of folks had kids with them).

tony balls · March 2006

BrookFetish wrote: Perhaps they should turn the back room into a place for MAKING kids.

is it not now?

last time I was there it was a dry-hump factory by the time I left.

sterling2000 · March 2006

Nope.

sterling2000 · March 2006

On a somewhat related topic, and for those of you who are sans-child but would like to think if the critters ever enter your life, you'll still be the same cool cat you've always been at soda and elesewhere:

http://newyorkmetro.com/news/features/16529/index.html

dailyheights · March 2006

That may be the funniest introductory paragraph I have read all year. Too bad I'm too busy to click through the rest of the article. Bookmarked...

ana.log · March 2006

EmilyM wrote: There were only about five people in the back room who weren't with us, it feels like...wonder who did the complaining.

hmm... ana.log's date???

Considering that later that evening my date passed out in my kitchen and followed that by having a seizure on my couch, I suspect complaining about kids to Soda's management was the last thing on his mind. Just a hunch. Ah, the joys of dating ....

meganlibrarian · March 2006

sterling2000 wrote: On a somewhat related topic, and for those of you who are sans-child but would like to think if the critters ever enter your life, you'll still be the same cool cat you've always been at soda and elesewhere:

http://newyorkmetro.com/news/features/16529/index.html

Articles like that never cease to depress me. Yet another article demonstrating how poor and conventional I am compared to all the people that "matter" in NYC... or, at least those that matter to New York magazine. :roll:

Don't mind me as I mutter in the corner. Nothing to see here. Move along...

armchair_warrior · March 2006

meganlibrarian wrote: [quote=sterling2000]On a somewhat related topic, and for those of you who are sans-child but would like to think if the critters ever enter your life, you'll still be the same cool cat you've always been at soda and elesewhere:

http://newyorkmetro.com/news/features/16529/index.html

Articles like that never cease to depress me. Yet another article demonstrating how poor and conventional I am compared to all the people that "matter" in NYC... or, at least those that matter to New York magazine. :roll:

Don't mind me as I mutter in the corner. Nothing to see here. Move along...they write about them cause they know people like or part of their socio economic group or something hehe. those articles make me think wtf.

hillaryj · March 2006

Toly's response (with charming thick accent) to the letter, "I think she should get a life."

devincf · March 2006

Kids are about the last thing I want to see when I'm at a bar. It's nice to have an adult place where you can get away from screaming children and the bad parents who can't control them.

drano · March 2006

devincf wrote: Kids are about the last thing I want to see when I'm at a bar. It's nice to have an adult place where you can get away from screaming children and the bad parents who can't control them.

And the vast majority of bars are like that. Find one. SODA won't be banning kids, at least not as long as money is green...or peach...

alafairnadia · March 2006

ana.log wrote: [quote=EmilyM]There were only about five people in the back room who weren't with us, it feels like...wonder who did the complaining.

hmm... ana.log's date???

Considering that later that evening my date passed out in my kitchen and followed that by having a seizure on my couch, I suspect complaining about kids to Soda's management was the last thing on his mind. Just a hunch. Ah, the joys of dating ....

wow, that sounds like an AWESOME date.

I feel your pain.

kristina · March 2006

why would anyone want to bring your kids to a bar? wouldn't the social time be better spent at the park, museum, zoo, etc. maybe something that is fun for the kid and not just the parents. bars are dark, kinda dingy with lots of weird strangers who are drinking. If I were a kid again a bar is the last place I would want to be.
I know you don't want to give up your social life, but it's not just about you anymore.

emily · March 2006

Would you say the same thing about a restaurant, kristina? Have you ever been to Soda?

I would say that the parents who bring their kids to Soda are there to have dinner with friends, which strikes me as pretty normal, but I see that I've already said that once in this thread already. :roll:

sweet tea · March 2006

I don't have children and get annoyed at the PS stroller hordes from time to time, but i LIKE it when places like soda welcome children. i think it makes the place feel more relaxed and grown up and neighborhood-y, less spring-break hedonistic or seriously alcoholic-y.

(would i change my tune if the entire back room were filled with screaming tots throwing pierogis while their parents ignored them? probably. but it isn't.)

kristina · March 2006

Soda is a bar. Maybe there's no smoking anymore and they happen to serve food, but it is not a restaurant. Don't get me wrong. I like Soda and I like kids. I think kids should go out (even to some restaurants) and be social, but a bar is an adult environment that seems very un-fun for kids(not to mention some pretty un-healthy food)

meganlibrarian · March 2006

The kids that I've seen at Soda have generally been well-behaved and seem to be enjoying themselves. It's a very homey sort of environment in the back room, and I personally haven't been bothered by the children toddling about.

stacey · March 2006

First let me just make it clear - we are talking about Soda here - not any other bar

kristina wrote: I know you don't want to give up your social life, but it's not just about you anymore.

No its not just about me anymore its all about my son and that's why I bring him for a little while to Soda every now and then. I want to make sure that my friends also know my son. Its nice to know that if he is riding his bike outside and gets into some trouble or needs help there are a lot more of his neighbors the he know and know him who he can turn to. Especially with the eclectic DH group - there are many people who he can learn things from that I cannot teach him.

kristina wrote: Soda is a bar Maybe there's no smoking anymore and they happen to serve food, but it is not a restaurant. Don't get me wrong. I like Soda and I like kids. I think kids should go out (even to some restaurants) and be social, but a bar is an adult environment that seems very un-fun for kids(not to mention some pretty un-healthy food)

Why would bringing my 9 year old son to Soda differ from taking him to a restaurant with a bar up front (where most restaurants ask you to sit while you wait for a table) with dining in the rear? We are not sitting at the bar we sit in the back with a group. Soda's food is actually very good (especially their veggie burger). Soda is also very accomodating to children.

alafairnadia · March 2006

if kids in Soda is bugging you now ... well. wait a few weeks. when they open up the patio, the joint is kid central til 9 p.m. almost every single day. it doesn't bother me at all, though. as others have said in this post and the countless others on this board, Soda isn't an upscale, fancy restaurant, nor is it a busted-ass, broke-down drunkard bar. it's a neighborhood pub. and, thankfully, that allows it to have an eclectic clientele. I *like* meeting my friends' kids - sometimes these kids are infants, sometimes they're wacky toddlers, and sometimes they're 9 year olds who bounce around drinking cokes and eating burgers.

heck, all of you who know me KNOW that if I ever give birth, my kid will grow up eating pierogies and Soda burgers.

and I know I've done my fair share of Half slamming, but one of the things I liked about Half, too, was that it was a nice place for a parent or parents to go with kids in tow to have a few glasses of wine and a nice plate of food. I met several nabe parents there (and their kids) and really enjoyed that vibe while it lasted. obviously the nabe needs another venue like this.

hillaryj · March 2006

Kristina, our daughter gets tons of park time, tons of reading time and Soda is time for friends and snacks. She couldn't be happier. If she becomes unhappy, we won't go, cause, as you said, it's all about her.
H

sterling2000 · March 2006

kristina wrote: Soda is a bar. Maybe there's no smoking anymore and they happen to serve food, but it is not a restaurant. Don't get me wrong. I like Soda and I like kids. I think kids should go out (even to some restaurants) and be social, but a bar is an adult environment that seems very un-fun for kids(not to mention some pretty un-healthy food)

Hmmm...you should talk to the actual management and owners at Soda (these are the people who set the rules, not the patrons), as they have a very different opinion. They feel that because they serve food, children should be welcome.

I can't speak for every patron with rugrats in tow, but I also tend to tip a bit heavier than I did as a single person in appreciation of a server's accomodation (both at Soda and elsewhere). But hey, if people are working jobs and running businesses for something other than money, then by all means, drop the hammer on the under-four-foot set.

And as for the food being unhealthy, I'm sure a few million Eastern Europeans (as well as their immigrant breathern in the Great Lakes Rust Belt here in the States and Eastern Canada) would disagree once you throw down the gauntlet over pierogies.

Yum...need to get lunch now.

devincf · March 2006

Drano wrote: [quote=devincf]Kids are about the last thing I want to see when I'm at a bar. It's nice to have an adult place where you can get away from screaming children and the bad parents who can't control them.

And the vast majority of bars are like that. Find one. SODA won't be banning kids, at least not as long as money is green...or peach...

Believe me, I don't go to Soda.

kristina · March 2006

Maybe I think differrently because I don't have kids. but I have a nephew, and I would take him to a cafe and/or some restaurants. I see kids all over prospect perk. cool- they even have toys and games so the kids don't get bored while the parents hang out. but I just wouldn't take a kid to a bar.

drano · March 2006

kristina wrote: Maybe I think differrently because I don't have kids. but I have a nephew, and I would take him to a cafe and/or some restaurants. I see kids all over prospect perk. cool- they even have toys and games so the kids don't get bored while the parents hang out. but I just wouldn't take a kid to a bar.

Yeah, it's a little weird. I don't personally take may kid to bars, but if you don't like the scene, don't go. Time will tell if being kid-friendly is the right business decision on their part, but I doubt they are feeling the pinch so far...

Should SODA Ban Kids?

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