A New Jersey mom whose toddler broke a cafe’s $1,600 table claims she “wasn’t allowed to leave” until she had handed over her credit card and driving license details to staff.
Kathy Denman was at the Hazelnut Cafe in Ocean County on Sunday when her three-year-old daughter, Allie, accidentally pushed over the expensive marble table, according to a NJ.com report.
Denman said in a viral TikTok video that after the incident she was made to speak to the store’s owner on the phone, who “kept repeating: ‘Our policy is, you break it, you pay for it.'”
The mom alleges she was kept at the restaurant for 20 minutes after the table was broken. According to NJ.com, it is “not immediately clear” if Denman was asked to hand over her credit card details “with or without prompting.”
The owners of the cafe sisters Kimberly and Jenna Campfield, told NJ Advance Media that Denham had not been charged or even asked to pay for the damages and that she had only been asked “for her contact information for insurance purposes.”
The Hazelnut Cafe in Lavallette, New Jersey. A woman alleged that she was not allowed to leave and was told she’d have to pay $1,600 after her 3-year-old daughter broke an expensive table at the restaurant. The owners of the cafe denied both allegations (Google Maps)
The Campfields, told NJ Advance Media that they were “extremely grateful” that no one was hurt.
“Following the incident, we personally called the child’s mother to express our concern, offer our support, and share our direct contact information should she need anything,” they said in their statement.
“We also want to be completely transparent: we would never hold anyone against their will,” they added. “The mother was not charged for the damaged table, even after asking how she could make it right given the table broke. We requested her contact information for insurance purposes.”
NJ Advance Media obtained surveillance video from inside the restaurant. It appears to show the child hitting the table with her foot before it crashed to the ground and shattered.
“I was completely humiliated and embarrassed,” Denman said in a TikTok video that went viral shortly after the incident. “I’ve cried since.”
Denman said in the immediate aftermath, her daughter was “frozen scared and nervous” and was made only more so by the reaction of the others in the restaurant.
Denman later said in a written statement on TikTok that the Campfields had contacted her to apologize “for how our family was treated.” She said she and her family had accepted the apology and wanted to “move forward peacefully.”
Her initial video was viewed more than 10 million times by the time her statement was added.
The table is reportedly sold by Anthropologie, costs approximately $1,598, and weighs approximately 109.25 pounds.
The Campfields told NJ Advance Media that they’ve removed similar tables from their restaurant and stores to avoid any future similar incidents.
