Virginia McDonald’s Bars Under-21-Year-Olds from Eating Inside. Is That Legal?
WJLA (Ida Domingo) reports that a Virginia McDonald’s put up a sign that states,
Due to repeated incidents of student violence, this McDonald’s location is temporarily closed for dine-in service to anyone under 21 years of age. This decision was made to protect our staff, our guests, and our community.
According to the story,
To enter, customers must ring a doorbell to be allowed entry by an employee. A spokesperson for the franchise said student violence and disrespectful behavior occur at least once a week, causing frustration among staff and customers.
“The fighting is a problem and they’re pretty brazen. The management tries to step in and these kids are pretty violent,” said longtime customer Robert Hancasky, who said he has frequented this McDonald’s for nearly 50 years. “They’re just trying to stop the violence because it’s not fair to any other customer who comes in for the sandwich, a hard-working person, they got to put up with a bunch of idiots.”
Despite the restrictions, customers under 21 can still use the drive-thru, order via a mobile app for curbside pickup, and dine inside if accompanied by a chaperone.
I sympathize with the management’s concerns, and with the concerns of the quoted customers. But my tentative thinking is that this violates Virginia public accommodations law, which provides,
A. As used in this section:
“Age” means being an individual who is at least 18 years of age.
“Place of public accommodation” means all places or businesses offering or holding out
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