Kathy Denman NJ mom claims being held against her will after her 3 year old daughter accidentally breaking a $1600 marble marble table at the Hazelnut Cafe in Lavallette. NJ, demanding she pay for broken item? But should she have?
Disconcert has come to the fore following the a New Jersey mother saying a cafe held her against her will after her 3-year-old daughter accidentally knocked over and broke a $1,600 marble table.
The incident happened at the Hazelnut Cafe in Lavallette, where Kathy Denman‘s toddler daughter ‘accidentally’ hitting the table with her foot while her mom was waiting in line to pay for their coffee and ice cream, she said in a viral TikTok video.
@njdotcom TikTokers are furious at how Hazel Boutique handled a situation where a toddler accidentally knocked over one of their $1,600 tables. The little girl’s mom and the boutique have since posted their take on how this played out. What are your thoughts on the Hazel Boutique table drama? 🎥 Hazel Boutique | Kathy Denman #nj #lavallettenj #jerseyshore #hazelboutique #hazelboutiquetable ♬ Dramatic Movie Trailer – Audio Infinity
Kathy Denman NJ mom $1600 wobbly table drama
‘I was completely humiliated and embarrassed,’ the mom said, adding that she’s cried since the incident, which brought the nearly 110-pound marble table crashing to the ground. But fortunately not on her 3 year old daughter.
Denman claimed managers of the store told her she ‘wasn’t allowed to leave’ until she forked over her driver’s license and credit card information to pay for the table, despite ‘immediately’ offering to pay for the damage.
But should she have offered to pay as some commentators wondered? Wasn’t the item insured and can a three year old child be really blamed for breakage of an expensive fixture when common sense in a trafficked public area would presumably lead to owners choosing a more basic and utilitarian object as opposed to an expensive almost ‘art gallery’ piece?
A regard at the Anthropologie website where such items can be bought shows the marble table fetching $1,598.
The mom talking to NJ Advance Media has claimed one of the café’s owners telling her on the phone ‘Our policy is: You break it, you pay for it.’
At the time of the accident, Denman said she stayed behind for another 20 minutes while customers helped pick up pieces of the broken stone tabletop.
@beautihut Broken table: $1600 – shame, embarssement, and mean girls robbing your dignity: priceless. I know I wasn’t put together and dolled up, but couldnt you have been just a bit kind? #meangirls #badbusiness #embarrassing #kidsoftiktok #momsoftiktok #needadvice #venting #rant #momlife #fyp ♬ original sound – Beautihut
NJ cafe responds never mentioning mom’s claims for payment details
Since the mishap, Denman, who lives in Pompton Plains, posted a statement on TikTok saying the café has since called to apologize for ‘how our family was treated,’ she wrote.
‘We want to move forward peacefully and do not wish to comment on this matter any further.’
Hazelnut Cafe posted a statement on its Instagram page giving its side of the story.
‘Following the incident, we personally called the child’s mother to express our concern, offer our support, and share our direct contact information should she need anything,” they wrote.
‘As an added precaution, we have since removed all tables from our locations to eliminate any risk of a similar incident.’
They claimed they didn’t and would never hold anyone against their will, and said Denman was not charged for the damaged table.
“We are extremely grateful that the 3-year-old girl, her grandmother, mother and every customer who was present are safe and unharmed.”
At no point did the store address Denman’s claims she was held against her will or having told her ‘you break, you pay for it.’
The Hazelnut Cafe is part of the Hazel Boutique, a home decor and clothing brand with four New Jersey locations. It’s owned by twin sisters Kimberly and Jenna Campfield.
