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Posted on 04/19/2026 2:44:43 AM PDT by Libloather
Diners at a growing number of restaurants and bars are being asked to stash away their phones — or even lock them up — as part of a push for more memorable nights out.
The trend is gaining traction across the U.S., with more spots experimenting with restrictions, incentives or locked pouches, Fox News Digital recently reported.
Charlotte cocktail bar Antagonist places guests' phones in locked pouches for about two hours, while Delilah, an upscale supper club with locations across the country, has a no-phones, no-posting policy, according to Axios.
Even Chick-fil-A has tested the tactic with a Maryland location offering free ice cream to families who keep phones off the table.
The trend is especially common at high-end, curated spots like listening bars, supper clubs, cocktail lounges and restaurants offering tasting menus, said Ben Tannenbaum, New York-based vice president of partnerships at nightlife company LineLeap.
"The driver isn't really an anti-phone sentiment," he told Fox News Digital. "It's that guests are going out less often than they used to and spending more per visit when they do, so operators are trying to make sure the visit delivers."
The trend has been building for years, experts say, and it's picked up steam as more people recognize the downsides of constant screen time.
"The phone-free dining trend began prior to COVID, but it's increased in momentum in recent years, especially as people have come to understand the negative impacts of overuse of personal devices," Amanda Belarmino, a hospitality professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Fox News Digital.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
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My GF has that exact player, and it still works!
When I’m at a restaurant by myself, I use my phone to read FR while I’m waiting for my meal.
If I’m dining by myself and want to do some reading online, have my phone on silent, why should I be required to put my phone away?
On the rare occasions when I have had to answer a call during a meal, I have had the phone on vibrate and stepped outside to respond to the call.
Why not make silent and step outside the rule?
Note to restaurateurs: I really didn’t need another reason to avoid eating out. You’ve already given me plenty. But thanks for the effort!
They asked that the phones be put away, not turned off.
Putting a phone away and refraining from playing games or constantly texting is not anywhere the same as turning them off. I long for the old days when there were no cell phones. Nobody lives in the present place anymore.
Cell phone jammers (or signal blockers) are devices used to disrupt mobile communication by transmitting radio signals that overpower cellular networks, creating a “dead zone”. Although marketed online to create quiet zones in restaurants, using these devices is strictly illegal in the US, as they block 911 calls and interfere with authorized radio communications.
Use land line for 911 calls problen solved.
It's usually the acoustics of the "modern" restaurant design.
They have large glass windows without curtains, and coated ceiling tiles to avoid stains and grease buildup. The floor The tables, booths, and half-height walls are laminate which also reflect sound. The floor is concrete covered with industrial carpet squares for easy cleaning.
The retail construction model is such that the restaurant you're in today could be reconfigured as a shoe store in a month.
The padded leather chairs, thick carpet over wood plank floors, few windows, curtains on the walls even where there are no windows, tablecloths, etc. are only found in pricier restaurants.
Everyone saying “people got along fine without cells” rarely say that about cars, computers, penicillin, electricity, or washing machines. That these comments are likely being typed out on a phone or laptop etc. is lost on some.
Every innovation that helps humanity results in a change, often for the better. But it’s a two-sided thing….Cellphones have sped up communication AND also given bad guys an advantage on robberies etc. To say “it can wait, we lived fine before cellphones” ignores that Bad Things have also accompanied the cellphone introduction.
The cell has enhanced society insofar as problems can be addressed quicker, stemming loss of property or treasure. Sure, there are downsides but anyone who says “nah, I’ll talk to junior later” and finds out he had a car accident will likely change their tune. Responding to that call or text quickly is simply keeping things pari passu.
The comments are funny. Let’s be Luddites and go back to no refrigerator. Gee, we were just fine dying early from spoiled food-borne disease.
I’m a recovering Luddite.
This ban isn’t about a mad-on for high tech.
This is about control.
Guilty as charged, except if I was at an establishment that was so crowded people were waiting for tables after I finished my coffee, I would gather my what-ever and make the table available for who-ever. That's just plain common courtesy.
Having said that, I rarely find myself in such popular places.
What if I am on a date with AI? That’s racist.
FWIW my cell phone never leaves the house.
It is not connected to a mobile plan.
I bought a used Iphone because there are so many mobile apps required to navigate the routine of daily life and I got tired of workarounds.
I also like it to play videos while I’m on my treadmill.
I live a happy life and I don’t need no stinkin’ mobile phone, well at least not to make or take calls or do that which I have never done which is text.
Once years ago in the BC era (before cellphones), I went to a restaurant with a co-worker for lunch. It was early so the place was practically empty, but they demanded that we sit at a table for two. Nothing wrong with that except that table was only a few feet away from the door to the kitchen, and the noise and brilliant lighting therein. It was extremely annoying to have to endure the swinging door and the constant traffic of waitresses as the lunch crowd filled in.
The management cared only for the bottom line, and had no concern for their customers. Yes, people can be a-holes, but the management can be that too.
We never went back.
Controlling who? The patrons? The environment?
Ultimately, the restaurant has all the property rights due them. The free market will sort this out. I like the experiment.
Equally, I’ll shun such a venue. Just like many concealed carry folks won’t go to a place that bans guns.
Today if you were seen with that 8-track player, some do-gooder would call the cops thinking that it was a detonator or some sort of bomb.
“What business is it of yours how I choose to occupy my seat and eat your overpriced dreck?”
Really? So you go to a restaurant, upscale or not, and think you can just do what you want and to hell with everyone else?
My phone is connected to my hearing aids and I use the app to adjust the background noise suppression and the directional mic’s. And I might put a microphone around your neck as well.
So no you cannot take my phone while I’m enjoying my dinner.
sitting there scrolling for social reasons is disgusting and rude.
= = =
If someone at another table is scrolling, and their volume is off, I don’t think I care.
If someone at my table is doing that, I will wonder why did I invite them to dinner, and I won’t do that again,.
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