Johnny Brusco's - will the third time be a charm ?

Lets just say you are the proud young parents of a couple of hyper-active-ill behaved children....and being good parents you want to take them to a restaurant where they can network with -other- hyper-active-ill-behaved children....Look no further, I've got your place.

Last evening the lovely bride and I took the opportunity to pay our -third- visit to Johnny Brusco's in Norton Commons. Our previous two visits ended in disappointment when we were greeted by an ambiance akin to indoor recess in a first grade classroom...but given the close proximity of this establishment to our east-side-hinterland location along with a heaping helping of optimism...we figured we'd give it another try. We figured wrong.

Upon entering the establishment we had three seating options...There was indoor seating next to the family with the nap deprived crust throwing 2 year old or a nice corner table next to the two couples with a whole infield worth of shouting-attention-deprived 6-7 year old boys, all of them jacked up on a quart of soda pop. We chose door number three...outdoor seating next to the two couples who were putting the feed bag on a team of 8 year old female soccer stars. Bad move....As I had completely forgotten the high pitched capabilities of the pre-adolescent female vocal cord.

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I love children...particularly when served medium well on a sesame seed bun, so we figured what the hell, we'll tough this out and see if the food is actually any good. We made it 8.5 minutes. At that point we asked the server (who was -very- apologetic and offered the information that "it's like this every night") for our appetizer to be served "to go" and we paid for our two -very- tasty craft beers and left.

Anyway, after three visits I'm forced to come to the conclusion that Johhny Brusco's is something of an upscale Chuckie Cheese for the Beamer/Lexus-driving-millennial-parent-crowd...and if this is your thing, by ALL means you need to beat feet to this place, it's right down your alley. On the other hand, if you have -any- expectation of a dining experience where you can hold any semblance of a non-vocal-chord-straining conversation....Fuh-getta-bout-it.

That's the same reason we don't frequent Red Robin either. The same scenario plays itself out there too.

That's the same reason we don't frequent Red Robin either. The same scenario plays itself out there too.

....Thanks for the "heads up" Dano. As it were, there had been some talk in our abode of late about trying Red Robin the next time we're in the burger mood. Alas THAT thought shall be banished from our brains forever more.

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I love children...particularly when served medium well on a sesame seed bun

Best quote ever. LOL

I've never been in this Johnny Brusco's, but I have been to two in Tennessee and neither one is like this. How sad for this franchisee that his/her restaurant has been taken over by ill-behaved children who are keeping other customers from wanting to visit the restaurant.

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I love children...particularly when served medium well on a sesame seed bun

Best quote ever. LOL

I've never been in this Johnny Brusco's, but I have been to two in Tennessee and neither one is like this. How sad for this franchisee that his/her restaurant has been taken over by ill-behaved children who are keeping other customers from wanting to visit the restaurant.

As a customer, I suppose I look at it from the perspective that his/her restaurant has been taken over by a sub-specie of parent who have not instilled the vaguest form of discipline into their children. Either way it's a loose-loose deal....for the customer and the owner.

They offer lots of discounts to schools and teams plus probably have a children's meal deal one night. I'm glad they have stayed in business. You've hit them on the wrong nights, it looks like.

They offer lots of discounts to schools and teams plus probably have a children's meal deal one night. I'm glad they have stayed in business. You've hit them on the wrong nights, it looks like.

I don't think there is a "right" night! As mentioned by Steve this is become the norm for every evening! I think the only chance to avoid this is to go at lunchtime when the kids are in school. It's really a shame that it's always like this because the atmosphere is very nice and the food is pretty good, as well as a decent beer selection. Maybe, as mentioned earlier, this is what keeps them going, but it also certainly drives off a lot of potential business.

Steve,
Thanks for the post- we'll avoid it like the plague. Asa parent of two who know how to behave in restaurants, it really saddens me to see this behavior.
FYI- Red Robin is less than 1 mile from my house. My kids don't want to go there because it's too noisy and the kids are unruly. Food's only okay. Drive 15 minutes to Mussel& Burger for amazing burgers instead!
Deb

I appreciate the heads-up but the place does advertise itself as a neighborhood, "family-friendly pizzeria." They probably make plenty of money on the 10 top of kiddos all drinking high profit margin sodas that they can afford to send the two tops with craft beers packin'.

If you want to rant about how much you hate children, start a blog. It's boring and not really food relevant (though you did a nice job of cloaking your rant in a semi food related topic. You should have just said "I hate any place that allow families" and been done).

I mostly find it sad and pathetic. I recommend libraries. They seem more your speed.

Moving on...

If you want to rant about how much you hate children, start a blog. It's boring and not really food relevant (though you did a nice job of cloaking your rant in a semi food related topic. You should have just said "I hate any place that allow families" and been done)

You missed the part up top where it says this is the Louisville Restaurants Forum, right? We discuss all aspects of restaurants here, not just the food. And I have no reason to suspect Steve hates families; from what he's posted here he seems to dislike only families who don't train or discipline their kids and thereby show no consideration to others.

Its Norton Commons, what do you expect? Its not like the kids have yards to play in. Gotta take em to the market to play!

If you want to rant about how much you hate children, start a blog. It's boring and not really food relevant (though you did a nice job of cloaking your rant in a semi food related topic. You should have just said "I hate any place that allow families" and been done).

I mostly find it sad and pathetic. I recommend libraries. They seem more your speed.

Moving on...

The post is certainly food related! It is totally about a restaurant and the atmosphere of the restaurant. That's certainly something most of us care about when choosing where we go to dinner.

It also wasn't about hating children, but rather it was about how misbehaved they are in this restaurant on a regular basis! It would be much better if you read and understood posts like the rest of us do before you comment on them.

Actually - I agree with both sides. The post is relevant, but Steve does also have a history of posting negatively about kids, so I get Chris's point.
Deb

Maybe it's just because ill behaved kids stand out so obviously. No one selects a restaurant because the kids are always well behaved but bad ones, especially on a consistent basis, can sure have a negative effect. And I love kids, work with them everyday. I love kids but not lazy parents.