Well the new Gino's East (521 S. Dearborn) is open and while this may be good news to some, one reader isn't so happy about a new policy being adopted:
Hey, Sloopy ...
Thought I would send you a scoop about a lame "new policy" at the brand-new Gino's East in the South Loop.
Gino's turned my husband, 2-year-old daughter and me away tonight around 8 p.m. because they don't allow children under age 15 in after 7:30. This after serving us around 10 p.m. on their opening day two weeks ago. The manager claimed the "new policy" was because they were part sports bar? Really? You serve PIZZA in a neighborhood FULL of families. This is likely to get a LOT of buzz on neighborhood discussion boards ... family-friendliness is one of the South Loop's major assets, so it stinks that any business would turn customers away.
Sharing with your widely-read blog so other families can 1) avoid the displeasure of being shooed away and 2) consider taking their business elsewhere. We will NEVER go back there, even during the hours the presence of a child is tolerated.(Hat tip: M and R Smith!)
I'm sorry to hear it; that is frustrating. I know we like to go out with our 1 year old daughter and Gino's East seems like a natural destination. That said, I also remember when I was childless being eminently annoyed with kids in bars, so I can see the other side of the argument. What I might suggest is Flo & Santos, which has (in my opinion) far superior pizza AND is very kid-friendly. It's not deep dish, but it's delicious.
ReplyDeleteI ordered Gino's East last night for delivery. I received a cold undercooked pizza that was a size smaller than I paid. Going back to Flo & Santos take out.
ReplyDeleteIt's owned by the same people as Edwardo's. We bought several gift certificates shortly before they closed and reopened under the new name. However, they won't accept the gift certificates at the new restaurant, and the other Edwardo's won't deliver to our house - even though another restaurant made the deliveries while the restaurant was being remodelled. They'll never see my money again. I'm giving the gift certificates to friends who live near the other restaurants.
ReplyDeleteThe shame isn't that Gino's would server your family, the shame is that Gino's has to do your parenting for you.
ReplyDeleteYou seriously think it's OK to take a two-year-old out to a restaurant at 8:00pm? At that age s/he should be getting ready for bed.
You sound like those selfish parents I see on the bus yapping into their fell phones, "no baby don't not gonna make me change my life" while pouring Diet Coke into the baby bottle.
You've got a child. Now be a parent.
Steve, you should worry about your own bedtime. Get off your high horse and let parents decide when it's ok to take their kids out....and 8pm is not too late if that's when a family can find time to be together. You have no right to blindly criticize someone's parenting who you don't know..... And especially since the topic is A PIZZA PLACE....go play Dr. Phil somewhere else. We're just neighbors trying to exchange information here.
ReplyDeleteI checked out the new Gino's East place in our South Loop this weekend and it was pretty sweet. Tons of local beers on tap, lots of flat screens, they are definately rocking the upscale sports bar atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised they are not letting kids in there during the evening, who is bringing their kid to a bar anyways and who wants kids hanging out in their bar.
Like Steve said, put your kid to bed. Get out of the bars.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame Gino's has to make rules to enforce common sense.
my daughter and I had a fantastic meal there last weekend. We commented on it being a great spot for families to sit down at, however that being said not sure if a two year old needs to be at a sports bar at 8 pm
ReplyDeleteInstead of sabotaging Gino's maybe you could just go there a little earlier, perhaps when most parents seem to go out with their todlers for a nice dinner....maybe 530ish?
just trying to help you make better decisions
Be well
Even some movie theaters are doing the same thing with people who bring their babies/children after 7:00-8:00pm and movies that are rated "R".
ReplyDeleteThose trying to give parenting lessons are completely out of line. A pizza place with a bar is not a strip joint, nor is it an opium den.
ReplyDeleteBeing turned away from a neighborhood eatery is rude and demeaning. Being turned away for having a child is the height of insensitivity.
Nobody said Gino's was a strip club or opium den. If you have to revert to the most extreme rational to get your point accross then you probably don't have much of a point at all...
ReplyDeleteGinos in the South Loop is not just a "pizza place", it is a full service sports bar as well. It is not the first place to decline minors after a certain time---- not a hard concept to grasp. Its been done for decades now and its intentions are good.
In my experience there are some parents out there that are just too stubborn to accept rules. Unfortunatly some think that because they have a child, that gives them a license to complain and bit** about anything and everything that doesnt 100% accomodate them.
Has anyone else actually had this location's pizza (delivery or dine-in)?
ReplyDeleteIf you can't produce your signature product well then there are bigger issues than policies about children attending at night.
I think the problem is that it is Gino's East, If it was called "Dave's Pizza & Sports Pub" the parents probably would never have thought to bring their kid in that late. Gino's East is traditionally the place where every family goes for pizza after mag mile shopping, museums, and 8pm wouldn't be too late for that. I can see the reason for the confusion, due to the fact that they are trying a different concept here. Still complaining on the internet days later...not so much..
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI was there last Tuesday and Gino's East in the South Loop seems to be a "bar" just like Applebee's is a "bar." Seems like if it's a REAL bar, then exclude all the under-21s. This policy also means my brother and his wife can't eat there with their 16-year-old and your 14-year-old at 7:31 p.m. ... and that a party of 20 15-y-olds could. Fortunately everyone is still welcome at Flo & Santos, the Scout, Bar Louie, Hackney's, Zapatista ....
ReplyDeletePlease go back to learn how to do parenting better, i.e. do not let your 2 year-old run around the restaurant yelling yapping crying with their dirty hands touching everything everyone. Then maybe Gino's east will change their policy/rule.
ReplyDeleteJust because they are your 2 year old and you think they are most adorable doesn't mean others has to think the same. And others do not need to put up with the noise/mess/chaos your 2 year old caused.
So please do yourself a favor, stop bitching about this. If you want to go out with your 2 year old, please goto the playground or to the zoo. you will be most welcomed there.
I was upset that they had the same shitty & slow service that Edwardos had.
ReplyDelete5 staff, 7 customers (Lunch) no check-back, got the order wrong, slow as molasses and they charge for soda refills. Hurry up and fail so we can get something else in there.
Geno's East SUCKS!
ReplyDeleteGet over yourselves, I won't go there because the pizza is bad.
This whole topic of bedtime is hilarious! In most countries, a 2-year old's bedtime is 10PM. You just don't ask people to leave your 'restaurant'. You just deal with it!
Personally, I don;t think that 8pm is too late to have your child out with the understanding that all three might not have many opportunities to all be together and eat out as a family. That said, I would not choose a sports bar at that time of night to bring my child. Now with that said, why is everyone going to Gino's East? Don;t you know there is a Malnati's up the street?
ReplyDeleteInteresting that it was all MEN who decided to make nasty comments about this woman's post.
ReplyDeleteMen that probably don't have families and don't have any clue at all about the whole thing.
8 pm may be somewhat late but it's hardly midnight. Let's not judge - we have no idea when the parents are getting out of work, etc.
If Gino's is a bar, then it's a bar. If it's a restaurant, it should serve EVERYONE. If it's both, it should designate separate areas for both things.
I had lunch at Gino's a week after they opened. Sadly there was personal pizza lunch option. I ordered the smallest pizza available (12") and it was okay but not delicious, not memorable.
ReplyDeleteI noticed a table seated after mine served slices. I missed that choice on the menu because it wasn't listed under Pizza but in the Appetizers section.
I haven't been (and won't be) back.
As others have said, better pizza can be had at F&S or Lou Malnati's.