Dartmouth Restaurant’s Sign Says What Shouldn’t Need to Be Said

I always say whenever there is a sign posted in public, there is a story behind that sign.

One of my favorite examples of this was at a Wendy's in Connecticut.  My family and I came across this sign that designated that particular Wendy's as G-rated. My wife and I were hoping to visit the R-rated Wendy's with the kids, but we settled for this one.

You can't be too picky on a road trip, after all.

I try to take one of my kids out to breakfast each Sunday for a little one-on-one time. For the past several weeks, we've been going to Just Another Phoenix in Dartmouth. It was hard not to notice multiple signs as we were walking in requesting that people don't bring outside food into the restaurant. I found this humorous because if I had outside food, why would I be going into the restaurant?

When I went into the restaurant this past weekend, it elevated the signage to a new level. In addition to the multiple signs on display as you walked in, there was another sandwich board-style sign that read "NO outside products."

It got me wondering: What is going on down there? This is obviously a very prevalent problem. Too many customers are still apparently ignoring the signs and sneaking in outside foods.

It was puzzling to me.

Maddie says that years ago when she worked at a breakfast place, people would try to bring in their own creamers for their coffee. They liked the creamers better than the milk or cream at the restaurant. The problem was that it was a health department violation for them to use their own creamers.

I've seen my mom bring in her own special fat-free salad dressing into a restaurant when she was dieting.

We asked Dylan Maciel, a manager at Top Shelf Bar and Grill in New Bedford. He told us that a woman once brought in her own A1 steak sauce, which is really shocking considering how delicious the restaurant's Portuguese-style gravy is on their steaks.

Lisa Chouinard, owner of Just Another Phoenix, gave us the scoop on her restaurant's signs. She told us that outside coffee is the biggest problem.

"Dunkin' Donuts. They'll come in with their own coffee," she said of customers. "One guy came in and wanted to crack open a bottle of liquor. You'd be surprised. But it's mostly drinks that will be the issue. They're in there to eat my food, not bring in their own."

Chouinard told us that the restaurant has a little basket off to the side.

"We tell (customers) they have put their drinks in the basket until they leave."