A 22-year-old woman was denied entry to a Gourmet Burger Kitchen restaurant at the Trafford Centre because she did not have a physical copy of her ID, despite having no plans to order alcohol.
Lia Clark, 22, was at the Trafford Centre when she tried to enter the GBK restaurant in the Food Court. She was asked to show ID to confirm she was over 18. Lia showed a photo of her passport on her phone, but the employee told her it had to be the original document. Unable to enter, she shared her experience on TikTok.
Reaction to the Policy
In the video, Lia said: "I'm not being funny or nothing but is this actually real life? We've come [to] the Trafford [Centre], yeah? We're trying to come in here to eat a burger. No alcohol, nothing - a chicken burger." She noted a baby inside the restaurant and was told the child was allowed because they were with an adult over 18. She added: "I am shell-shocked, I have never heard nothing like that in my whole life."
The TikTok post received over a million views. Comments included: "What a strange policy," "ID for a f***in chicken burger," and "Acting like it's a club." Another user shared a screengrab of the children's menu, saying: "A restaurant with a kids menu IDing people I've heard it all now."
GBK's Response
A spokesperson for GBK said: "Like pubs, clubs and other venues that serve alcohol, the conditions of our current licence state that guests must be aged 18 or over unless they are accompanied by a responsible adult. At times we need to check ID to verify a guest's age to ensure we are complying with the law. We operate a Check 25 policy to ensure we are compliant with our licence. As with pubs and other licensed premises, this means the original physical ID document rather than a photo on a mobile phone, which we are unable to accept."
The spokesperson added: "We appreciate this can sometimes be disappointing for guests, and we understand the frustration this has caused. However, our team were simply following the requirements of our licence and applying them consistently. While we never want to turn anyone away, we are pleased the guest was able to find an alternative place to eat within the centre."
