Near West Side brewery goes “Kid Unfriendly”

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Forest City Brewery welcomes beer drinkers, music lovers, Browns and Guardians fans, almost everyone. But now, one sort of person won't be welcomed: kids!

"Kids were being kids,' said owner Jay Demagall. "But it became exacerbated when it was becoming a safety issue and parents weren't monitoring the children."

Forest City Brewery has been open almost 9 years but it's the site of the country's oldest beer garden, open from 1965 to 1915. The place is packed with history. But no longer packed with kids.

"I came in here to use the restroom and there were five kids over there, throwing things around and breaking things," said Demagall. "We have to do something."

That something was banning kids and making the bar sixteen and over.

And it wasn't just safety concerns.

"Some customers did complain about the kids and their behavior," said Demagall. "And then we had staff concerns as well,"

There may be a time in the future, however, when kids are allowed back in.

"We are still looking at some ways to include kids out here but where we can do it in a safe manner, where we can have someone monitoring an area or a situation," said Demagall.

Demgall says he doesn't expect business to suffer because of the ban and looks forward to fall filled with baseball and football.

"But until then, sixteen and older guys!"