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Restaurant visitors instructed on strict behavior by 21 signs: 'Rules are rules'
By Maureen Mackey Fox News
Published October 25, 2024 3:50pm EDT
Some customers have been left bewildered at a venue that contains a total of 21 signs across its grounds, according to reporting from news agency SWNS.
The notices at Hidden Gem Café in Manchester's Heaton Park instruct visitors on basic information, including that dogs aren't allowed, children must be supervised at all times and restrooms are for customers only.
The venue also warns that anyone caught consuming food or drink not purchased inside the café will be asked to leave the premises.
One social media user said that while these were "all reasonable requests … it's extremely funny how many signs there are."
Another person joked, "Rules are rules."
Still another suggested that while "most of these [requests] are just common sense," the cumulative effect made the person feel he'd rather take his business "elsewhere."
Jack Fifield, 26, said he noticed the signs when he visited the garden center where the café is based. He joked online, as SWNS reported, "Anyone know if there [are] any rules I have to follow at this café?"
A number of the signs carry the same messaging — including discouraging people from eating their own food and forbidding dogs on the deck area or inside the restaurant.
Fifield, a journalist, said he came across the café just north of Manchester city center on a day off from work.
After a relaxing walk, he stumbled across the garden center and headed to the café for a bite, SWNS noted.
He said, "I was shocked to be greeted by a sign telling me I could be asked to leave if I consumed my own food or drink. [Then] as I approached the café to buy myself a slice of cake, I noticed a lot more signs with different rules and regulations."
"Please note, only food and drinks purchased in the coffee shop can be consumed on these premises," says one sign, while the other says, "Sorry, no dogs on decking area." (SWNS)
He added, "I thought it seemed massively over the top, but I saw the funny side. I bought a cake and a hot chocolate and sat down outside, where I counted all the signs."
He said that at one point he took out his water bottle for a sip, and got "worried I'd get kicked out — but of course I didn't. The staff were friendly enough."
Fox News Digital reached out to the garden center for comment.
A café manager identifying himself only as "Mark" defended the number of signs, SWNS reported, and said they were intended to remind customers of basic rules.
He said, "The signs are things like, ‘Please keep your dogs on a lead.’ Just this morning, a guy [was] running around with his dog not on a lead and a [man] tripped over and banged his head."
The signs, he also pointed out, ask people to "please only consume food and drink bought in the shop — it's not a picnic area."
He also said, "I went to Marks and Spencer this morning and saw more signs than I've got up, I don't get what the issue is."
On its website, the venue notes that it's "delighted to say that our customers can now enjoy refreshments whilst sitting in the covered greenhouse or in our beautiful gardens."
It also says that "coffee is served freshly ground and teas [are] too plentiful to be able to mention."
In addition, it notes that "the staff here are a wonderful crew. You will leave with a smile on your face and a content tummy."
AH: I wonder if all the rules have anything to do with England's current illegal immigrant problem.
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