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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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Exactly!
Some Chik fil a kid is going to give me agita over my phone?
Not a chance...nunya!
Snooty wannabe “upscale” place? What business is it of yours how I choose to occupy my seat and eat your overpriced dreck?
Agreed.
I’m with you on this one.
Free-market economics.
If the majority of the buying public doesn't want this, it wouldn't be "gaining traction".
If one is addicted to their phone and cannot unloose themselves for 10 minutes, then they can go to a restaurant with others addicts.
If one prefers normal social interaction, then they would do business with an establishment with like-minded people.
Why would anyone have a problem with the Free-market?
What gives you the right to walk into a business, sit at a table, (alone), order a cuppa coffee, and sit there for hours doom scrolling? A table in a restaurant is pretty expensive real estate. Go into any restaurant, (fast food to five star) and look around for a few minutes. People sitting there with a doing what-ever on there phones while customers wait for a place to sit down and order. I’ve owned a restaurant, the management is not doing this to be mean, it’s doing this because people are assholes and sit there for hours, buying nothing.
What if the babysitter needs to call you about an emergency? What if your son away at college is having a meltdown and really really needs to speak to you? What if the next door neighbor is calling to say your house is on fire? What if …………?
Some of us Only use our phones for necessary communication and know how to keep them tucked away until needed and how to science a call or ignore a text if it is interrupting a meal, and we don’t see the need for posting our every activity to instagram. But we will refuse to have our phones confiscated to a locked bag like we were children or idiots!
Yeah, good luck with all that 👌
It’s a start. Now replace incompetent and rude employees with robots and ban disruptive customers.
Ban phones and dogs in all resteraunts. Dogs don’t belong in resteraunts. If you can’t go out to eat without your dog, don’t go out.
An actual service dog for a disabled person I get but your service dog patch on an annoying ankle biter is a pathetic excuse for idiots.
“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.”
BS, this is so the Instagram Foodies can’t post “live” reviews of their proprietary slop and give them low-star ratings.
I live semi-rural and live alone. When I go out I’m usually by myself. The places I go to are not that rushed, and nobody says anything if I hang out a bit longer. That said, if the place is more upscale and I’m with friends the phone gets put away unless I’m sharing photos.
CC
Oops. Html error. I mentioned that some restaurants can get rather noisy after a few rounds of adult beverages..
It’s a good idea on one hand. But we’ve been alerted of security breaches at our house, critical notifications relative to elderly parents, and similar situations. It really isn’t practical in today’s world.
But I agree that sitting there scrolling for social reasons is disgusting and rude.
People got along fine before cell phones. Mine sits home 99% of the time. If it’s with me in the car it’s for music and stays in the car when I get out. I never take it to resteraunts, breweries etc. Doesn’t go with me on hikes or fishing, grocery stores, Home Depot or Lowe’s.
I’ve got kids, grandkids and other family and friends. I’ll check when I get back in the car or when I get home. If my house was on fire I’ll find out when I get home.
The only place you should put away your phone is somewhere that requires listening to a speaker (like church, or movie theater).
As people have mentioned previously, a mobile phone is considered an important device when receiving emergency contact.
How did we even live prior to cell phones? We never had a phone so we could go out and know the babysitter could call right away.
Our homes even burned down when we went out. /s
I sat in a restaurant one afternoon where a woman about 50 took her mother out to eat. The woman sat there engrossed in that freaking phone and never said one word to that woman she was with. Not one word. It was sad to see.
+
...but what if some tranny gunman breaks in and opens fire on the joint. Wouldn’t we want the patrons to be able to tell their kids that they’re safe?
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