These are two different pictures of two different restaurants that are among the same street.

The first one on the left is Landmark Diner located right next to the Aderhold Learning Center on campus, and the second one is Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken located at Peachtree Center. These two different facilities are carrying the same messages implying that the facilities’ restrooms are for customers only.

This implies that unless an individual is planning on purchasing a meal that they are only allowed to use the restrooms of the restaurants. This tactic is used as in a way to stir away homeless individuals in particular that “if you cannot afford to eat here, you cannot use the toilet here”. I believe that this gimmick has been installed among many other food chain establishments in the city to prevent those that are not wanted because not only they cannot afford the meal ticket but would potentially drive business away if they were to be present among individuals that actually purchased the meal and are sitting down in the restaurant to eat or in other words, wealthier individuals. This can also be seen as if their consumers were to see that if they allowed strangers whether homeless or not to take advantage of their public service such as restrooms without returning the favor of purchasing something from the establishment that there would be complaints involved from these consumers.

It’s almost in a way as to where it’s okay to use the restrooms in the gas station if one is not planning on purchasing anything and is using it as a pit stop because most gas station facilities don’t mind at all who comes in or uses the restrooms because it’s publicly installed for the use of the public. However, when it comes to a restaurant that is set to cater whomever decides to dine in the establishment, it’s not built for public use. Meaning that “if you need to use the potty, you need to purchase something”.

In a way, I can see from both perspectives as to why restaurants only cater to those who buy from it and are stirring away any unwanted and unwarranted public attention that don’t plan on purchasing mainly because of the control of the business and environment itself. However, I do feel sympathy to those that seek the public use of restrooms because there’s only so many around that the nearest one could be a restaurant that wouldn’t allow you to “do your business” because you don’t have the funds for their business or really because all you want to use is the restroom.