Andrea Weckerle

I like Panera Bread. It’s a great place to eat and hang out, a relaxing environment where you can get some work done at the locations that offer Wi-Fi, or even where you can bring the kids without worrying that they’ll tear the place apart.   

But when I come across information about inappropriate behavior in a restaurant, it makes me want to go somewhere else. Josh Hallet, in an aptly named post The Most Disgusting Thing You Can do at A Restaurant?, describes a Panera Bread patron who was openly and unabashedly clipping his fingernails (despite his outrage, Josh somehow managed to take a photo of the offending action). And while there are worse things than clipping away — Josh mentions one which I won’t repeat here — you’ve got to admit this behavior is pretty brash.

Please remember that a restaurant, no matter how cozy and inviting, is not your living room. So, unless your restaurant is named the Toilet Bowl, treat it like someone else’s home and not your own.

But for those patrons who just can’t seem to make that distinction, it might be a good idea for restaurants to openly display a list of house rules. Here are some suggestions:

• Keep your pants on
• Wear a shirt
• Wear shoes
• Keep your feet off the table
• Don’t performs acts of personal hygiene (for goodness sake, that’s what bathrooms are for)
• Don’t engage in hard-core amorous behavior

Simple enough, right?