Restaurant bases child prices on height

A Commack, N.Y., sushi restaurant has drawn criticism for its height-based pricing policy for children.

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Amy Kaplan of Dix Hills, N.Y., said staff at Sushi Park told her that her 11-year-old daughter, Nikki, would have to pay full price for her meal because she exceeded the restaurant's 4 1/2-foot cutoff point for children's prices by 2 inches, New York's Newsday reported Monday.

"We didn't stay," Amy Kaplan said. "I became indignant and asked to see the manager ... I asked, 'Do you really feel that if my daughter is tall that she's going to eat more?'"

Newsday said the owner of Sushi Park couldn't be reached for comment but other restaurant operators defended the height-based system.

Pricing by age "just makes things a little difficult for my employees to determine who should be charged as a child and who should be charged as an adult," said Kevin Kong, manager of East Buffet and Restaurant.

However, officials at other restaurant were more critical of the system.

"Kind of insulting," Jimmy Hahn, manager of Riverview restaurant, told Newsday. "What if you have a tall girl in the family?"