New Texas Restaurant Doesn’t Allow Cellphones and Twitter’s Pretty Okay With It

I don’t hate this.

A new Italian restaurant in Fort Worth is banning customers from using cell phones, according to NBC DFW. Located in the historic Stockyards, Caterina’s requires all guests to put their cellphones in a bag that won’t be unlocked until they leave.

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Owner Tim Love says those who don’t honor the restaurant’s policy will be asked to put their cellphone in the bag:

We're going to kindly ask them to put their phone in the bag. We've already had that happen. Some people forget. They just have their phone in their pocket. We give them the bag. They put their phone in the bag. It's not a big deal.

Caterina’s realizes that there are those out there who can’t fully disconnect for various reasons. In that case, Love says those folks need to give someone the number to the restaurant and they’ll bring an old-school rotary dial landline phone to their table.

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t hate the policy. I always try to disconnect when I’m out with friends and family. In fact, I’ve had to remind people that it doesn’t get any more social than simply hanging with friends at a bar or restaurant – social media can wait.

Judging by some of the reactions on Twitter, there are plenty of others who feel the same way.