Magnetic Island cafe owner defends his decision to kick out a family after their ‘brat’ toddlers threw a tantrum

A business owner has defended kicking a family out of his cafe, saying he only intervened because the toddlers were vandalizing the shop and harassing customers.

In a video posted to social media on Sunday, an Australian mother was furious after seeing the family of four being told to leave the property due to “crying children”.

But Adrian Dalloste, the owner of Adele’s Café on Queensland’s Magnetic Island, said the family’s two children threw a tantrum after having to share a scoop of gelato.

“The older child showed his dissatisfaction by clearing our shelf with all our shells and items on the counter,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“Then he picked up one of the metal flasks and threw it on the tiles. I was surprised that the tiles didn’t break.

‘My employee looked at me and asked, “What should we do?” and I waved my hands as if it would take more than a minute – but they didn’t leave, they sat outside at a table.’

Mr Dalloste said the tantrum lasted 15 minutes before he went outside to ask the family to leave.

‘The mother seemed shocked. The father told me it was a bad thing and I told him, (it wasn’t), it’s bad parenting,” he said.

‘This is the first time in eight and a half years that I have had to ask someone to leave. I hate to do it, but it was loud, the oldest was absolutely screaming.”

Laura Edwards, who filmed the video and posted it online, watched in horror as management threatened to call the police if the family did not go.

She said the parents had tried to calm their two- and three-year-old children.

‘It’s sad and shows that we still have a long way to go between seeing and not hearing children and understanding the research into children’s brain development.

“He could have asked them if they needed help or asked one of the parents to take the crying toddlers for a walk, but he just threw them out,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

However, Mr Dalloste said he was confused when Ms Edwards stepped in to defend the family because the issue was “none of her business”.

‘She came in and told us we were disgusting, but she was on the other side and hadn’t seen it.

“Then she posted a video on social media telling people not to come to us.”

The cafe owner said that when the parents failed to calm their children down, he was scolded by the father when he asked them to leave.

“I walked back to the cafe to avoid any more confrontation as they were getting quite rowdy,” he said news.com.au.

He said the family initially refused to leave and eventually warned him to call the police.

Ms Edwards said as a concerned observer she had the right to act to defend the family.

“I think sometimes when you have kids you’re looked down upon, especially when they have tantrums and stuff, but their brains aren’t fully developed at that age and they need help to process those emotions,” she said.

She added that as a mother of three, her children have also kicked off in public, admitting they were often louder than the kids crying over ice cream.

‘I was sitting outside at the time of the tantrum and didn’t hear them. The doors are open all the time – and I thought I would hear screaming and kids throwing things. All I heard was the owner kicking them out.”

But Ms Edwards’ stance against the cafe – calling for a boycott of it – turned out to be a minority view.

Thousands of people criticized the mother, telling her to ‘mind her own business’, or saying the manger’s actions would make them more likely to choose the cafe.

‘Good for the business owner, I would have done the exact same thing. He has a duty to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable experience.

“I have kids and when they were little, if they passed off as little brats, I would pack up my stuff and leave it out of respect for others,” one woman said.

Another predicted that ‘in a few years they will be stealing cars in Townsville. Stay off our island.’

“Responsible parents should have taught their children how to behave and show respect for others, or make sure they don’t annoy others,” a third added.

Others said they “wish more places would kick out the shitty kids.”

Dozens claimed to have had great service from the cafe in the past.

‘Nice man! We were there yesterday with a lot of kids and he was so nice to all of us. Great customer service and we couldn’t have had a better experience,” said another.

Ms Edwards said she was shocked by the response to her complaint – and said it was disappointing to see people agreeing with ‘treating families and children in that way’.

She added that the children’s father was kind and told the cafe owners to “enjoy the rest of their shift” as he left.

Mr Dalloste said his wife was concerned when the video went online and was picked up by the media, but the response was largely positive.

He said people had also called him and offered help.

“Business was good, the day after it all happened we had double sales,” he said.