Tennessee Restaurant’s New ID Requirement for Tall Kids Yields a Variety of Reactions

America has been in love with the buffet-style restaurant for about 80 years, ever since Herb McDonald devised a way to keep gamblers at this casino when they got hungry. That was 1946, and the concept was set in stone.

Asian restaurants, particularly those that serve Chinese food, adopted the buffet format years ago and, wisely, never looked back. They're everywhere, and they get the traffic. In Alabama (two locations), Kentucky (one location, in Louisville), and Tennessee, you'll find a regional chain called the Yoki Buffet. It doesn't really differentiate itself much from other Chinese buffets you might run across, but that's always been fine with American consumers.

Tennessee Buffet Requires ID for Children's Prices

Lately, the Yoki Buffet in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has been the subject of searches that go beyond store hours and menu items. The restaurant has posted a sign informing customers that if they have a child who is young enough to take advantage of the children's buffet and, hence, the lower prices, they will have to provide identification proving the child is the age the parents claim. Folks couldn't get to the comment section fast enough when this went up on Facebook.

Even though this restaurant doesn't affect me, neither could I. And one of the first comments I saw is one I could've predicted, but maybe not in these words...

Bev Geeter - Idk about y'all, but I'm not gonna be walking around with an entire birth certificate just to eat at a buffet.

Sure enough, a birth certificate is one required method of proof. Yoki Buffet will also accept a passport. However, if you're under 4.3 feet tall, no ID is required.

Then, there was humorous speculation about why the sign was posted...

Christopher Clark - Must of had a run of 6 foot tall ten year olds eating 5 lbs of food.

Not everyone, though, is a detractor.

Shannon Rae Mooneyham - People try to get the kid price for their 15 year olds! I've worked in restaurants (even buffet) and I get some 11 year olds are big but they never questioned mine for his age.

And a voice of reason for balance...

Patrick Withrow - Folks this isn’t ID’ing 7 year olds, it’s for the 15 year olds who look 12, I got my ID when I was 14.

Just remember that if you're headed to Yoki in Murfreesboro, and your 11-year-old hasn't hit their growth spurt, grab the passport or birth certificate on the way out the door.