Brooklyn Restaurant's Stroller Solution

After Union Hall banned strollers (and the little ones who ride in them) -- a line was drawn in the sandbox, waging a full on war between the childless and the stroller pushers. But could there now be a light at the end of the tunnel? The Brooklyn Paper is reporting on a possible solution, at least at Water Street Restaurant in DUMBO.

The restaurant has joined forces with Parent Play, a company where you can make dinner and babysitter reservations all with one call. The first Brooklyn restaurant to team up with the company (three Manhattan restaurants already have), Water Street is now offering up on-site babysitters so parents can dine while their children are watched in a separate room. If you want to use the service, it'll add an extra $18 to $30 onto your bill (depending on how many kids).

The idea is almost as perfect as, say, getting a babysitter to come to your home while you go out -- albeit this is a simpler, cheaper solution. Will it make everyone happy? It will certainly be appealing to those who can't find a spontaneous sitter, and the childless customers will be able to eat in peace. As the eatery's owner says, “Anything’s better than having screaming children in a restaurant."

Will other Brooklyn restaurants clear out their wine cellars to make way for romper rooms?

Photo of strollers in Brooklyn via redxdress's Flickr.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Food on March 7, 2008 5:10 PM

Comments [rss]

maevemealone

this can work at Water Street bc I think their babysitting room is their downstairs party room. It doesn't seem to get much business down there bc it's so apart from the rest of the restaurant. You can look down into the room from the big picture window in the bar, so it's easy enough to check on your kids from upstairs. Dumbo is the new Park Slope, I'm awaiting the stroller sets push to pave over the cobblestone streets so that they don't break their bugaboos.

meowster

you're not a baby-hater if all you want is a screechless unspoiled dinner at an adult oriented restaurant. that goes for people with or without kids. i was at water street the other night. there were two kids (around 4-5 in age i would guess) hanging/flipping on and running along the railing where tables are while the party of 4 adults they belonged to, unfazed, ate their dinner and chatted and drank bottles of wine. that is completely unacceptable, i'm sorry. does that mean i am a baby hater? honestly the kids in bars/eating establishments doesn't bother me as much as some, but i think the real problem, as it has been said a gazillion times on here and elsewhere, is with the parents. it's sad and it's truly the new New York.

emilydickinson

It's not kids that are the problem, it's misbehaving kids that are the problem. It's fine to take your children out to eat,if they stay at the table and don't screech and and ruin everyone else's meal. It's situational, and a child's behavior in public is a reflection of the parents skill at being a parent. I had dinner out on Thursday, and one family was letting their child run around the restaurant. The wait staff looked ready for murder. I still children don't belong in bars.

pandarelated

i don't get why someone else kids get to be my problem. it's your kid/s.. its your problem.

Steven

If something happens to a child will the parent sue the restaurant?

REALITY CHECK

We don't hate babies. We just hate the babies' entitled parents who think that waters must be parted because they're rearing a child.

Kevin Walsh

Just do what McDonald's does, and fill a side room with plastic balls and toys for the kids to play in.

www.forgotten-ny.com

the_other_sjp

just an observation, gothamist seems to have a lot of baby-haters.

Ryan P

Eating the children would be, really, the best of both worlds.

JasonJL

Not a bad idea. This will greatly help those spur-of-the moment decisions when it's realized there's no food in the house.

drewo

As the eatery's owner says, “Anything’s better than having screaming children in a restaurant."

Better to teach children proper manners.

ChampionOfTheSun

Not a bad idea. But, with rents already so high, I doubt restaurant owners will want to use space for whining, little brats. And I think most people would rather leave their kids at home, or take them to a more casual restaurant.

F1Mikal

"waging a full on war between the childless and the stroller pushers."

I believe the term is "CHILD-FREE" for those who have chosen not to have children.

CHILD-LESS I think may be used for those unfortunate ones who are not/have not been able to bear children.