Kids allowed in bar areas under new Indiana law

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- Plenty of new state laws go into effect July 1, this Saturday, and one of those laws allows children— accompanied by adults—into bar areas at local dining establishments.

South Bend restaurant owners told ABC57 they see this policy change as a good thing.  

“It’s going to be good for a lot of bars, restaurants, places that do serve alcohol and food, and would like to give more options for diners, where they can sit inside the establishment,” said Steve Lowe, owner of South Bend Brew Werks.    

Lowe explained that minors under 21 still do not get to cozy up to the actual bar, but the surrounding bar seating is fair game.

South Bend restaurant owners, like Lowe and Shawn Todd of The Cellar Wine Bar and Kitchen, say it’s a positive change for the local dining scene.    

“There’s enough people in the neighborhood that have kids and want to be able to sit here, maybe watch a game on TV and kind of be in this atmosphere rather than the family side,” Todd said. “They can do it just miles away in Michigan, so why not here?”

Mark McDonnell is the founder of the LaSalle Hospitality Group. He said the current law is a byproduct of old Indiana Prohibition rules.  

“If they were not 21, Indiana law said, ‘you cannot sit down at a table anywhere, where there is no separation between the bar and the seating,’” he said. “And on July 1st, all that is gone.”

Now, bars and restaurants can choose to open up more family-friendly seating, but they are not required to make the change.