Diners want more adult-only spaces, research shows
USA TODAY’s Betty Lin-Fisher explains the shift in dining as more adults want pet-friendly and kid-free restaurants.
Leave the kids at home, but dogs are welcome – outside and indoors at restaurants – according to a recent study of U.S. diners.
Seventy-five percent of consumers surveyed said they want an adults-only dining section – including 79% of parents, according to a study by Lightspeed Commerce Inc., a point-of-sale software company whose global clients include the retail and hospitality sectors. Lightspeed’s State of Hospitality 2026 report surveyed consumers in several countries, but the company shared U.S.-specific data from 1,000 respondents with USA TODAY.
When it comes to dogs, nearly half of restaurantgoers (45%) support dog-friendly restaurants, including 16% who want to bring them inside and 29% who support only allowing dogs outside.
Gen Z diners are leading the pack when it comes to bringing pups to restaurants, with support rising to 64% compared to 35% of baby boomers.
Leave the kids at home but bring the dogs?
Fifty percent of consumers surveyed said limiting kids or having adult-only dining depends on the setting and more than a quarter said they supported the idea outright.
Consumers were most supportive of restricting kids in restaurants in late-evening settings (49%), designated adults-only sections (46%), romantic settings (46%) and alcohol-focused venues (43%).
“There’s some really interesting things happening culturally amongst diners and generationally,” Adoniram Sides, Lightspeed’s senior vice president of Hospitality Product, told USA TODAY. “There’s really growing support for adults-only dining spaces.”
The parents surveyed who said they want kid-free dining options “implies that a lot of parents themselves think that there should be a space not just for bringing your whole family, but having that moment maybe away from the family or enabling other non-parents to dine without kids around,” Sides said.
Younger diners were more in favor of adults-only dining sections in sit-down restaurants, but the percentages were still high in all age categories, according to the survey.
Eighty-four percent of both Gen Z diners and millennials said they wanted adult-only sections, while 77% of Gen X and 67% of baby boomers were in favor. Fifty-six percent of the Silent Generation, or those 80 or older, said they wanted an adult-only dining section.
When it comes to dogs, a large percentage of survey respondents wanted dogs only on the patios outside, but a growing number wanted them inside, too, Sides said.
“Dogs aren’t just for the patio anymore. They are for the whole dining experience,” he said. “You want to make sure that you’re not just getting your pup cup at the drive-thru, but you’re getting your pup cup maybe at the dining table as well.”
Parents want kid-free dining options, too
Cheryl Poccia, 41, is a new mom of a 5-month-old daughter, Delia. The Long Island City, New York, woman said it depends for her when it comes to wanting adult-only dining options.
When it’s an adults-only night out, “I don’t want kids in a restaurant. I don’t want the loudness,” she told USA TODAY. “If you’re going to take a night out, you’re trying to take a break.”
Poccia, who works in the insurance industry, said she’d be in favor of adult-only sections of a restaurant to also protect little ears since adults on a night out might not be talking about kid-appropriate things – especially when she and others are on a Mom’s night out.
“We’re swearing, we’re having a good time,” she said.
Poccia and her partner have been to some restaurants where it is clear the vibe isn’t accommodating to children since there aren’t any highchairs or activities for kids. So, it is less likely that parents will bring kids and the restaurant is trying to say, “this isn’t a kid-friendly restaurant and maybe you’ll get the hint.”
Kid-free dining should be like smoking, non-smoking sections
Nicky Lopez loves kids and dogs, but the Santa Cruz, California, woman says there’s a time and place for them at restaurants, especially high-end restaurants.
Lopez, 35, spends a lot of time with kids as an elementary school teacher. When she and her husband go out to eat, especially at an expensive restaurant or at a bar, Lopez doesn’t want kids nearby.
Similar to when there were smoking and no-smoking sections in restaurants, Lopez told USA TODAY, “why can’t we have adults only? I think it depends on the restaurant.”
“If I’m paying upwards of $50 a plate or more and upwards of $30 for a drink or a bottle of wine or whatever, I don’t want that experience ruined for me,” she said. “Absolutely I would love an adults-only dining section.”
Lopez said she and her husband, who have chosen not to have children, understand they can have a child-free lifestyle, but not a child-free world.
“And while I say that, I also say that there is a time and place for kids,” Lopez said. For example, Lopez, who works at a brewery for her summer job, doesn’t think kids belong at bars.
Gen Z diner sympathizes with parents with little kids
Hafeezat Bishi, 26, of New York City, is generally fine with kids at restaurants.
Bishi, who works as a media associate, said some parents don’t have a choice but to bring their kids to a restaurant.
“Children are a vulnerable community within our society. They don’t have autonomy and rely heavily on us as adults to take care of them, steer them in the right way and whatnot,” Bishi told USA TODAY. “To make them feel ‘othered’ simply because maybe they’ll get a little rowdy or emotionally dis-regulated, I feel like is a little ridiculous.”
Bishi is pretty tolerant when it comes to kids causing a scene in a restaurant. She recalled a recent brunch with a friend at a New York City restaurant that she said was expensive, but still family-friendly. There was a child, “probably 4 or 5 years old,” according to Bishi, who was making a scene.
It was annoying, she said, but she was also trying to be understanding.
When it comes to adult-only dining, Bishi said even though she doesn’t have kids, she doesn’t think there needs to be sections only for adults. And, she does think parents should leave the kids at home when they’re heading to a bar.
Dog owner: dogs don’t always belong inside restaurants or on patios
Lopez also owns a 2-year-old German shepherd, Rottweiler, pit bull, bulldog mix named Pico. She doesn’t bring Pico everywhere, and sometimes doesn’t bring him to restaurants where dogs are allowed.
Recently, Lopez said she and her husband were going to brunch at a place with a great patio. But the last time they were there, they felt the tables were squeezed close together and it felt tight. So they decided not to bring Pico since they were unsure if he’d get too excited with extra people and dogs close by.
“So I was like, ‘Let’s just skip this one and not bring him.’ But also that’s me knowing my dog, knowing that my dog gets really excited, knowing that it’s a more compact space and how dogs act.”
Lopez has mixed feelings about whether Pico or other dogs should dine indoors. Since she lives in California, most restaurants have big patios, so she prefers eating outside. A lot of indoor venues have tight quarters or walkways and Lopez said she doesn’t want to worry about Pico getting in people’s way. She thinks dogs inside on restaurant seating are an “absolute no.”
Bishi, who doesn’t have a dog, isn’t sure she supports dogs dining indoors. While some very well-behaved dogs will sit still inside a restaurant, there are many who might startle a waiter or steal food off a plate, she said.
Poccia also doesn’t have a dog, but has a brother-in-law who is severely allergic to them.
Said Lopez: “I wouldn’t want little tiny fingers up at my table just as much as I wouldn’t want someone else’s dog’s nose coming up to my table.”
It comes down to being aware of what your kid or dog can handle in a public setting, she said.
“It should not be other people’s problems.”
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which breaks down complex consumer and financial news. Subscribe here.