The owner of a Portland diner is defending her actions – and comments she made on social media – that have left many outraged. (video below).
Carla Neugebauer, the owner of Portland, Maine, restaurant Marcy’s Diner, was in the middle of a busy day on July 18 when the 2-year-old’s parents ordered pancakes.
“They ordered three for this kid, a 2 year old,” Neugebauer told WTHR. “Three pancakes bigger than her head. And then they didn’t even feed them to her.”
The girl began crying after trying to eat the pancakes, which were out of her reach. Her parents, Neugebauer said, wouldn’t give them to her.
After what Neugebauer claimed was an hour of nonstop crying, she finally had enough.
“All I said was … I slammed my hands on the counter and said this needs to stop, meaning her screaming and I pointed at her,” she said. “And she looked at me and she stopped. And her parents said, ‘Are you screaming at a child?’ ‘Yes I am.’ And she shut up.”
The girl’s parents, Tara and John Carson, finished their meal and angrily left the restaurant, vowing never to return. Tara Carson later took to the restaurant’s Facebook page to voice her outrage over the incident, which she called “the worst experience.”
“Who in their right mind would behave like this unless you are deranged?” she wrote.
“Yes i am f****** crazy & you are lucky i didn’t get really f****** nuts because being physical is not something i cower from,” Neugebauer replied.
Marcy’s faced significant backlash following the incident, with many calling Neugebauer’s actions inappropriate.
“Not appropriate for the owner to act like that as an adult!” one reader commented. “The owner should go to the table where they were sitting. Then explain to the parents that the crying is getting too loud and ask nicely if one of the parents could take her outside to calm down.”
Others defended Neugebauer’s actions.
“Not everyone wants to listen to a screaming kid when you go out to have coffee or a meal,” one commenter wrote.
When asked whether or not she was sorry, Neugebauer stood by her choice to yell at the child.
“I don’t know if sorry would be the proper word,” she said. “I might have used poor judgment. I wouldn’t say that I was sorry because it stopped. When things stop, it’s usually a good thing.”
https://youtu.be/8V1B7gQstoM