House at Hood in Hamilton.
Photo: Google Maps
A popular Hamilton bar banned customers under 20 on Saturday nights after thousands of dollars in damage.
House on Hood reduced the age of entry to 18 last year, but decided to reverse the decision by saying that the misbehavior of some teenagers is also costing them older customers.
Another pub -owned pub is a minimum 25 -year coverage age.
The group’s chief executive, John Lawrenson, said Verification point They were left with no choice but to increase the age of entry.
“There seems to be a love -breaking love affair when you are young and going out to drink. I also have the Outback Bar in Hamilton, and this is mainly intended for students of the first year. We had four broken bathrooms there in the last two weeks.”
He said the behavior began at his hood bar when they left the age of drinking for the age of 18.
“You can imagine that my older clients don’t like to go to the bathroom to find broken bowls and it’s out of order.”
When House on Hood was a bar of over 20 years, said Lawrenson, they did not face these types of issues.
“It was a bar you spent at the end of the night and checked, everything would be in good condition.
“So when you left 18 -year -olds enter, the repair and maintenance account went through the roof.”
Lawrenson said the damage cost about a five -digit amount.
“Unfortunately, usually just a few hundred at a time, so you may be paying for a plumber to go back and put a new toilet, and this may be seven or 800 dollars, but it is never enough to claim safe because it would never reach excess.
“You are always out of your pocket every two weeks by fixing a bathroom, doing the billisters accounts, replacing some furniture and was just death with 1000 cuts.”
The difference between 18 -year -olds and 20 -year -olds is life experience, said Lawrenson.
“I think most people agree to this age or 38, 40, 48 and 50, there is not much difference. But when you’re 18 years old entering a bar for the first time, you literally have no experience.
“Those first six to 12 months, they really don’t know where their limits are if someone gets drunk to the point of vomiting or drunk to the point of acting outside behavioral norms.”
He said there were problems with people pre -charging.
“They go to a bottle store first, buy RTDs or alcohol, drink very quickly and arrive in the city not yet looking affected by alcohol.
“The plan is that you drink it as soon as possible in the city possible, knowing that it will reach you all night, so unfortunately we ended up dealing with the consequences of pre -charging and drinking.”
Places that allow 18 -year -olds to be more designed to be nightclubs, he said.
“They don’t have a gastronomic function during the week.
“Teenagers are entering their nightclubs and perhaps they do a little damage, it will not affect the environment for people who are trying to come and a meal on a Tuesday night.”
Bars like Keystone, which has a limit of over 25 years, has been designed more for people who want to sit for a meal.
“People want to go to a meal on a Sunday, maybe they want to have a brunch. They don’t want to get in a place where the bathrooms are out of order because someone crushed them the night before.”
Bars for 18 -year -olds are built to be more robust, Lawrenson said.
“We literally have stainless steel toilet bowl in the boy’s bathrooms inside, but curiously, even the girls ‘bathrooms are now starting to receive a little damage. So, in fact, we’re having to look at the girls’ bathrooms inside as well.”
Lawrenson said he received positive feedback on the ban.
“I really thought the 18 -year -old would be very upset about it and would have a lot of push, but they were very quiet.
“The manifestation of the positivity of the multitude of over 20 years and the amount of attention that has become nationally was overwhelming. So, I think a good decision for us, a good client and I am very positive about what the result will be.”
SUBSCRIBE IN NGā Pytopito Kōrero, A daily bulletin curated by our editors and delivers directly to your inbox every day of the week.
