South Philly feud: B2 Cafe and the toddler with the cell phone
B2 Cafe, one of three South Philly coffee shops owned by Nancy Trachtenberg, is currently in a bit of a feud with a mother and others who allege one of the cafe’s baristas grabbed the cell phone out of the hands of a three-year-old girl who was playing music, saying “”I don’t want to listen to your music right now!”
That’s one side of the story, at least. According to Trachtenberg and others at the East Passyunk Avenue cafe, that’s not what actually happened.
More from Philly Mag:
This being Facebook, a virtual vigilante army formed. The post was shared several hundred times, and people took to the cafe’s Yelp page as well as other review sites to express their outrage.
“Your staff is lucky they weren’t assaulted, as you assaulted a three year old,” wrote one irate Yelp user. “I’ll be boycotting B2 and I’ll be passing this story along to my friends as well as posting this review on multiple websites that u can’t delete..”
But B2 Cafe owner Nancy Trachtenberg says that her 7-year-old business is getting a raw deal here and that the facts are not as Depasquale alleges. According to Trachtenberg, the employee approached the table briefly and said, “You have to turn that down,” and then she walked away.
In response to these allegations, B2 released this short video clip of the barista in question approaching the table for a quick moment, saying something to the girl and walking away. In this clip there’s no evidence of the barista ever snatching the phone out of the girl’s hand.
B2 Cafe respectfully submits this video clip for your review. We hope that this clarifies to the public that nothing rude or unprofessional transpired yesterday. Please note that the interaction was less than 2 seconds and that the employee touched nothing. Please feel free to direct any further questions to me, should any details need clarification.
Posted by B2 Cafe on Wednesday, February 10, 2016
People have no respect for being in public. Not everyone wants to listen to your kid and his/her phone. Don’t want to be dealt with like a child? Then be a responsible and respectful parent and make sure your kid is behaving.
People have real nerve.
I would like to see the video 2 minutes before and 3 minutes after the clip they released. Yes, I do not like kids with loud players but would they tell an adult who keeps them in business to quite down
They should. Just because someone spends money at a business, it doesn’t mean that person has the right to be obnoxious. I prefer businesses that take a stand against rude patrons. But I will say that I know nothing more than what was posted in the video.
What a crock of BS. I didn’t see her touch the phone or the child. What is wrong with people that they not only have to make crap up, but their kids have to be attached to electronic devices at all times. I’ll be sure to go to B2 more often if they don’t allow this kind of nonsense.
I am not surprised by this. I don’t patronize any of the B2 locations anymore because I was tired of being treated like I was a burden by the staff. Every time I went in, I was met with disdain, and a holier than thou attitude. Now, I agree that the parents should understand that toys/phones/noisemakers should be put away when you are out, but did the waitress really need to say anything? Also, she was 3 years old. Come on, B2, issue an apology for not reaching out to the mother to ask her child to put the toy away, instead of being a dick to a 3 year old.
That misses the point completely. It’s not the 3 year old, it’s the parent. It’s called having some respect for those around you when you’re out.
As the mother of a preschooler, I have to say… get a hold of your kid. I would never allow my child to have music playing out in the open in a public place.
B2 is always family friendly. Additionally, they support local schools and arts. All “B” locations are welcomed establishments in the south philadelphia community. I have no doubt, the child’s mother is blowing this out of proportion for attention. I have two kids and know that people don’t want to hear their whining, ipad games, or music.
Be considerate. Have manners.
Nice try, but your username is clearly an anagram of “Nae Diner”… you’re obviously a B2 shill.
Actually, her username looks like “Adrienne” spelled backwards. Nothing sinister here…move along.
I think you missed the joke.
What’s a Nae Diner??
I don’t like B2 but I am going in and giving that barista a big tip:)
Yeah right. Like we should believe Nancy Trachtenberg about ANYTHING. I wouldn’t be surprised if she spent thousands of dollars doctoring that footage. We’re sick of your coverups, Nancy! We want the TRUTH!!!
Yeah! It’s all Hollywood and stuff! #sarcasm
Who knows if the video is actually true but it is not surprising at all… every time I’ve gone to B2 her staff members are rude. The employees act like they are doing you a favor by taking your order and make sure to make you aware how annoying it is. Want a juice? The machine isn’t working or “closed down for the day”. Sit in there and listen to them complain about the customers that just left. I’ve gone in and waited 5 mins for the employee to stop looking at her cell phone to take my order and then had her glare at me the whole time. One of the worst is the girl with the short blond hair at B2. Everyone I know says the same about B2 so we all stopped going there. Better to go to black and brew or chayya where people are actually nice to you.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been annoyed by a child….
Hand raised. If you go in public w your kids. It’s your responsibility. To control them. Not others.
I don’t get this. The video clearly shows that all the barista did was say something to them – no grabbing. That’s the end of it. I understand that some people like the B’s and some don’t but that doesn’t impact the facts here. And for the record, Nancy supports lots of stuff in the neighborhood.
Too funny. Pure W-T, that’s all it is.
I never don’t go to B2. There is usually too many kids there! W-T parents don’t control their spawn.
*never go
Philly Mag watched the entire surveillance video. And there was no physical contact. Here’s the story
http://www.phillymag.com/news/2016/02/12/b2-cafe-cell-phone-2/
Did the philly mag say there was audio? This is not legal in pennsylvania unless there is a notice on the door of video AND audio monitoring.
The 12 states which definitely require all parties to a conversation to consent before it can be recorded are: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. (In California, there is an exception – you can record a conversation with the consent of only one party if certain criminal activity (kidnapping, extortion, bribery or a violent felony) is involved.)
Lol funny to see the miserable hipsters and bettering young profressional families try to coexist.
Very funny hipsters & young professionals trying to coexist….there is a fine line but then you throw in the real south philly folks and the mix get outrageous….bottom line everyone needs to respect themselves and the surroundings. Your not the only slug in the room…