A restaurant in Foster City, California has drawn widespread attention online after a social media post highlighting its policy of holding parents financially responsible for damages caused by their children went viral.
Chez Xue, a name that means “House of Xue,” describes itself as a family-friendly restaurant. However, owner You You Xue said the policy was introduced months ago after concerns that some guests were treating the establishment more like a playground than a dining space.
“I’m very proud of the fact that my restaurant has always been and will continue to be a family-friendly environment,” Chez Xue owner You You Xue said. “We are a gathering place for families, people bring their children. We have like four or five high chairs on standby for that, so we’re always going to welcome children, but we ask that people just respect the fact that this is a restaurant.”
The discussion gained momentum after an X post on June 28 by user “Raymmar” shared details of the restaurant’s rules regarding children’s behavior.
“We are not a playground. Please ensure children REMAIN SEATED at all times and respectful of fellow guests and the dining environment,” the restaurant’s policy says. “Running around, shouting, making noise with utensils, etc. WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!”
The notice states that customers who fail to follow the guidelines may be asked to leave and that parents could be responsible for any damage caused by their children.
The restaurant has publicly shared examples of situations where parents were charged for damages. In January, a parent paid about $5 after a child playing on booth seats accidentally knocked a table and broke a teacup.
“We have this long booth seating, and the children were running up and down, playing on that, and then they ended up knocking, sort of stumbling and falling into a table and knocking a teacup to the ground. It was important for us to put our money where our mouth was,” Xue explained.
Another incident occurred in April 2025 when a customer’s child dropped a credit card machine, breaking its screen. The restaurant charged the parent $327.03 for the damage.
In December 2025, another parent was charged $109.38 after a child used a dining utensil to carve designs into a table.
Xue said the policy was created to prevent restaurant employees from having to intervene in situations involving children’s behavior.
“I honestly put this notice on my menu because I didn’t want to put my employees in the position of parenting other people’s children. It should not be their job,” Xue said. “…Their job is to serve the guests, not to, you know, run a daycare or a playground, and although the message that we’re sending should be obvious, unfortunately it was not obvious, so we had to put it forward.”
The policy has received mixed reactions from members of the community. While some people believe restaurants should absorb minor costs such as broken dishes as part of normal business operations, others have praised Chez Xue for addressing the issue.
“I’ve received calls from community members who have never been to my restaurant before. They saw the article in the news, and they said, ‘You’re saying something that all of us want to say, but we’re afraid to say it,’ because you know, you don’t want to rub other parents the wrong way,” Xue said.
Xue emphasized that the charges are not intended as a way for the restaurant to profit from customers but rather to encourage guests to respect the dining environment.
The restaurant owner said the goal is to maintain Chez Xue as a welcoming space where families can enjoy meals while respecting other customers.
“This is just asking people to treat the restaurant as they would like their home to be treated,” Xue explained. “My goal has always been to bring accessible Chinese food to the public in a fun and upscale environment where people feel great eating here… Dining out is a privilege for so many people. Still, a lot of families, you know, they don’t get that kind of time to go out with their friends and family many times a week, sometimes just once a week, once a month.”
Xue said the policy is aimed at preventing disruptions caused by children running around or making excessive noise during meals. Since the rule was introduced, he said the restaurant has not experienced any major incidents involving children and does not plan to remove the policy.
He added that the attention surrounding Chez Xue reflects a broader challenge faced by family-oriented businesses trying to balance welcoming children with maintaining a comfortable atmosphere for all guests.
According to Xue, the viral response showed that the conversation extends beyond his own restaurant and reflects concerns shared across the restaurant industry.
“Not every restaurant can put such a blunt and unvarnished message on their website, so you know we’re taking that responsibility, and hopefully this will only result in positive changes like it has already at my restaurant,” he said.
Xue reiterated that Chez Xue remains committed to welcoming families as long as guests respect the restaurant environment.
“If we wanted to ban children, we would have done so already,” Xue joked. “… All my team love children. Like I said, I really am proud of the fact that this is a family-friendly restaurant!”
