A furious mum has slammed a new café who she said should be 'ashamed' of themselves after staff refused to let her five-year-old use their toilet. The woman said she had taken her daughter to the Blossom Café in Wythenshawe as a 'treat' on Saturday.
However, not long after they arrived the little girl said she needed the toilet but when her mother asked an employee if there was a toilet she could use, she was bluntly told 'no'. The café in Cornishway has a staff toilet but they do not allow customers to use it, Manchester Evening News reports.
Taking to Facebook, the angry mum issued a warning to other parents who were thinking of trying out the new establishment that had only opened three weeks ago. She wrote: "I’m not even posting because I want them to care! As I’ll never go to your café again!!!! Just to make other parents aware!
"After seeing (a) post about Blossom Café I thought I’d treat my little girl to a lunch date! On arrival the shop look(sic) nice, was a little cold inside but it’s a cold day anyway! We sat down to look at the menu!
"My daughter who is 5 said mummy I need a wee??? I asked the lady can she use the toilet to be told NO?? She even went into the back to ask the manager! Still No!!! She’s 5!!!!!! So obviously we left!
"Absolutely shocking!!! You should be ashamed of yourself!!!!" Hundreds of people replied to the post, with many siding with the mother as they argued her daughter should have been offered to use the staff toilet.
One person replied: "Ridiculous! Think lots of people with children and/or medical conditions will be avoiding this place! They can’t even provide a basic human right.
"It’s getting a bit tedious seeing the constant posts about how nice their pancakes are. Doesn’t really matter how nice their food is if they can’t provide basic necessities!"
Another remarked: "I genuinely believe that any establishment selling food and beverage (has) an obligation to provide toilet and washing facilities." A third agreed : "Whether it’s a legal requirement or not it’s basic human decency to let someone use the restroom if they’re bursting. Regardless of how old somebody is."
The café has received a lot of positive online feedback for the food on its extensive menu which ranges from breakfasts and salads to waffles, milkshakes and ice cream sundaes. Owner Imran Alli has responded to the recent 'disheartening' incident by saying that their staff toilet is in a very tight unsafe space which is close to the kitchen and he can't take the risk of allowing customers into that area.
He explained: "If something happened in the back next to the kitchen, say if she slipped on something, my insurance would be void. It's not safe for anybody to go in the back except for staff.
"You can't fit two people in there and we couldn't take the risk of letting a five-year-old go on her own." Imran, who has leased the building for 15 years, used to run it as a post office before moving it into a nearby convenience store.
The father of two says he can sympathise with the mother's complaint but claims that with his own children he would make sure they were 'prepared' before going out and that her child 'needed the toilet as soon as she arrived'. He added: "I'm not ruthless and saying a child can't go to the toilet for no reason, but the safety aspect comes first. There is shelving and other stuff there, things that could be hazardous."
The business owner said he is 'currently looking into' whether or not he should be providing a public toilet following the incident.
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: "Local authorities may use discretionary powers to require a venue, ordinarily, with more than 10 covers to have a customer toilet available. We will be sending out an officer to assess the situation with the cafe owner."
Greater Manchester-based washroom installation specialists Concept Cubicle Systems said that in hospitality, it can often be 'a distinct grey area' as to whether or not establishments are required to provide toilets. They said: "When you are a café owner or run any other business, customers and clients may also legally require or personally expect toilet facilities to cater to their needs.
"The café and restaurant business, and much of the hospitality sector for that matter, is a distinct grey area as the subtle laws and regulations are not so apparent. In any case, the main answer is that you do not by law have to provide toilets for customers if there are not 10 seats and people are consuming food or drink on the premises – though you do for staff."
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