Going out to bars with friends can be a fun way to spend the evening. However, bars are jumping on a growing trend that shifts its target audience away from the younger generation.
Many bars and lounges around the US have restrictions that set an age limit to curb unruly behavior sometimes exhibited by newly legal drinkings and appeal to an older crowd. That’s right: bars are “banning” Generation Z.
An Age Limit on Bars
US bars are trying to create an atmosphere that is more comfortable for 30-25-year-olds, which means that anyone else is barred from entry. CNN spotlights New York’s Upper East Side bar, The Auction House, which has an age restriction of 25 years or older.
“I didn’t need a 21-year-old to come in with two of his friends, to make a ruckus and then get sick in the bathroom,” Barounis says to CNN.
Even Restaurants Are Establishing an Age Limit
This age restriction has gained traction and controversy across the US. In the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, an upscale Caribbean restaurant, Bliss, attempted to limit entry to women 30 and up and men 35 and up.
The owner of Bliss chose to run his business with this age limit, but the unconventional age policy has raised some questions about who businesses are allowed to turn away at the host stand.
The Reason Behind This Policy
As Bliss owner Marvin Pate points out, there is a demand among people in a specific age group who want to go to adults-only hotels and resorts. Some restaurants have even seen an increase in reservations and sales after banning young children.
Pate told CNN, “Majority of (places) around the country if you go to a place that’s 35 and up, it’s actually a lounge with fried food. We thought about the concept of a restaurant that’s daily, where people could … get a luxe environment and just enjoy themselves with actual cooked food.”
Support for the Policy
Bliss’s Facebook page shows that there is some support for this age limit on the restaurant. Many customers welcome the laid-back nature Bliss promises, which is void of any younger adults or children.
Several people even urge the restaurant’s owners to not backtrack on its age policy despite the wave of criticism it has received.
Those Against It
However, some object to the idea of an age limit at a bar or restaurant as a scale of maturity level.
“An age restriction for a restaurant is a bit of a reach unless it’s a bar and event space too IMO,” one commenter said. “If they want to deter disruptive crowds it’s better to raise the price range, not the age range.”
Age Restrictions Are Not Illegal
While many believe establishing an age range is taboo, it is a policy that doesn’t generally constitute age discrimination. Trey Lindley, a civil litigator in North Carolina with the business law firm Lord & Lindley, tells CNN that businesses have a right to set their own guidelines for service.
However, businesses cannot establish guidelines that are not protected by categories established by the federal government, like race, religion, national origin, or disability.
The Logical Reason Behind the Policy
While age discrimination is a protected guideline within the context of employment, Lindley notes that age is a protected characteristic when it comes to federal and state laws banning discrimination in public places.
Establishments that do want to put an age limit on their bars or lounges have to have a logical reason for their rules and enforce them uniformly.
The Gendered Age Limit
Another conservation around Bliss’s age limit has to do with the differences between women and men. Bliss defended its policy of allowing women 30 years or older and men 35 years or older in a Facebook post.
Bliss owners wrote that this policy is implemented to create a “grown and sexy atmosphere” and helps “maintain a sophisticated environment, uphold[ing] our standards, and support[s] the sustainability of our unique ambiance.”
The Backlash
This five-year gap has some customers, especially women who meet the threshold, feel like they cannot visit the lounge with their male partners who are not old enough to enter.
“Why can I come at age 30, but my husband who will be 33 this year can’t?” one user commented on a Facebook post from Bliss. “Assuming that all young people are going to cause problems is cutting out a huge crowd of people who would bring in more business.”
A Growing Trend
While the age gap at Bliss seems arbitrary, separate policies for men and women are not unheard of among bars and nightclubs. In fact, age-exclusive establishments are becoming a trend.
However, Jason Kaplan, CEO of the restaurant consulting firm JK Consulting, tells CNN that this policy won’t work for every restaurant.
Business Show Tread Carefully
Bars will be able to get away with higher age restrictions, but a strict policy on age for restaurants could turn more customers away, leading to less profit. Younger people tend to spend more money on drinks and eating out, and icing them out could do more harm than good for a business.
“You’re talking about that sweet spot between young professionals that you’re basically going to eliminate, who are willing to pay for experiences,” Kaplan says.
