Groveport bar bans customers under the age of 30 on weekends drawing ire of social media
On May 1, Donerick's Pub in Groveport announced on Facebook that only customers older than 30 would be allowed in the bar on Friday and Saturday nights.
While the pub didn't say whether a specific incident prompted its new 30-and-over policy, its social media manager told several curious Facebook commenters that the change was made for safety reasons.
"The amount of clientele we’ve gained on the weekends has made us have to make adjustments for safety purposes. Keeping our customers safe is our top priority!" the pub wrote in a comment.
Can bars legally ban people under the age of 25?
The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act established the national legal drinking age as 21, and now, all 50 states require someone to be 21 or older in order to buy and legally consume alcohol.
Age restrictions in bars vary from state to state and, in some cases, city to city, so policies like the one implemented by Donerick's Pub aren't unheard of. The occasional story of bars banning people under 25 makes the news, and there was once an entire Reddit thread dedicated to answering the question of why a bar would bad people under certain ages.
The social media reaction to the Donerick's Pub age rule was swift and varied.
"This won’t only affect the businesses (sic) income but the employees that rely on tips to make a living wage. You’d accomplish more from better trained security, a dress code and a cover charge. But you might need to lose the dive bar aesthetic. I wouldn’t pay a dime to walk into the establishment," one commenter said.
"Love it!!! Keep the heathens out!!!" another commenter said.
A number of commenters referenced a fight between a naked woman and a fully clothed woman in the pub's parking lot that occurred a few days before the announcement as the reason for the rule change.
"I mean the ones that’s fighting and shooting 30 and up (for real)," one commenter said.
In a video posted on Instagram, a fully nude woman is seen grappling with another fully-clothed woman before another woman approaches and begins hitting the nude woman. A group of bystanders grab onto the fighting women, seemingly trying to break up the fight.
Multiple commenters suggested the bar change its dress code instead of the age requirement to increase safety.
@NathanRHart
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio bar bans patrons younger than 30 on weekends, social media reacts
