Gia Giudice is addressing the backlash surrounding her new Italian restaurant, Il Vero, after customers criticized its strict adults-only dining policy.
The Next Gen NYC star recently opened Il Vero in Westwood, New Jersey, but the restaurant has already sparked controversy after a customer claimed their party was turned away because they had babies with them.
According to the customer, a group of eight adults, including two couples with babies in strollers, arrived for a 5 p.m. reservation on a Saturday evening. Despite having a reservation, the group claimed they were asked to leave because the restaurant does not permit children of any age.
The incident sparked debate online, with some questioning why babies in strollers would not be allowed, while others defended the restaurant’s decision to create an adults-only dining experience.
Now, Gia is explaining the reasoning behind the policy and revealing that changes could eventually be considered.
Taking to TikTok, Gia addressed the criticism directly.
“I am going to address all the feedback,” Gia began.
She explained that the restaurant was intentionally created as a space specifically for adults.
“The first thing that I want to address is that we are a restaurant that only accommodates adult dining,” Gia said.
While acknowledging that the policy may disappoint some families, Gia pointed out that Westwood already has plenty of restaurants catering to children.
“While I know that might be a bummer to some who want to bring their kids out to dinner, there are many restaurants in Westwood that are kid friendly,” she explained.
Gia said the decision was about offering something different to the community rather than creating another family-focused dining establishment.
“Westwood is a very family oriented town, which is why we wanted to bring something a little different and bring a new atmosphere that adults were actually waiting for and the town of Westwood is loving.”
She continued by explaining the atmosphere she and her team envisioned for Il Vero.
“We wanted an adult driven restaurant. We wanted to create a space that feels elevated and makes you want to get dressed up.”
Gia also addressed questions about whether the restaurant would ever consider allowing children during certain hours.
According to Gia, Il Vero is still in the early stages of its opening, with the team gradually increasing the number of reservations it accepts.
“We are currently at 50% occupancy for reservations in our restaurant and we are growing each week on opening up the reservations more and more,” Gia explained.
She then revealed that the restaurant is not currently serving lunch, but that could create an opportunity to revisit the policy.
“We are not open for lunch yet,” Gia said. “So when we do decide to open up for lunch, we will consider opening up our lunch hours and allow children into the restaurant.”
However, she made it clear that the adults-only dinner policy would remain in place under that potential arrangement.
“And then during dinner hours, no children,” Gia explained.
She added that allowing children during lunch is “something that we’re open to exploring when we open up the restaurant during our lunch hours.”
Gia’s response makes it clear that the no-children policy was a deliberate part of Il Vero’s concept, rather than a decision made in response to any particular family.
For now, the restaurant remains focused on providing an elevated, adults-only dinner experience.
But with Gia open to exploring family-friendly lunch hours in the future, the restaurant may eventually offer a compromise for customers who want to visit with their children.