WJ students taking over Wildwood shopping center at lunch

[Anonymous]

I used to get lunch at Wildwood during the week, sitting at FlowerChild or Piccolo Piatti, but it's become impossible with the high school students. They buy bagels/starbucks/pizza at the cafeteria and sit at the tables outside of these restaurants. They go inside the restaurants, don't order there, but bring outside food in. The lunch is 11-12 it seems, so nearly peak lunch time. They aren't rude, just annoying and messy. WJ has a security guard and maybe a VP stand outside of Chipotle on the other side of Old Georgetown, but not in Wildwood.

Is it up to the restaurants to tell them to leave? WJ to tell them to stop? I think all four grades have one lunch period when any students are allowed to leave campus, but they have to buy their food and bring it back to the school.

[Anonymous]

So you want stores to have fewer paying customers? This is a pretty Karen type complaint.

[Anonymous]

My DS says it’s nearly impossible to get lunch at school. The cafeteria at school is full and there is no sitting room. Let the poor kids eat lunch!

[Anonymous]

WJ has an open lunch. This is not a new thing. There are over 3000 students in that school; that is on MCPS. There will be fewer once Woodward is available, but still many students, who will be hungry and eating lunch out. No one is standing in the WJ cafeteria line, getting bagels and pizza and walking over to sit at Wildwood. Have you ever been in Bethesda Bagel at lunchtime? Business is booming! I never run errands over there 11-12.

Btw, 12:30, also a normal time to grab lunch out and lounge around, is just fine.

[Anonymous]

Why do the high school students need to leave if they aren't committing any crimes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you want stores to have fewer paying customers? This is a pretty Karen type complaint.

How are they paying customers if they don't purchase anything at the restaurants? Do you even read or do you just want to be contrary to OPs and throw "Karen" around like it means something?

[Anonymous]

My kid graduated in 2023 from WJ. His last year there, some kids got into a chair-throwing fight in front of the businesses, and I think someone had a knife. Temporarily, 9th and 10th graders could not go out for lunch.

OP, Wildwood has managed these students for years. They have a direct line to the Principal, and they can call the police anytime they want.

You see where I'm going there? What you describe is still within the bounds of what the businesses find acceptable. Otherwise they would have complained to the Principal already and something would have been done.

If you're really annoyed, YOU can contact the school yourself. If enough people complain, they will take your feedback seriously.

[Anonymous]

If I’m reading you correctly, these kids bring their home lunches and use the restaurant seating. Correct?

If so, it’s up to the restaurant to enforce that the seating is for paying customers only or however, they want to word it.

[Anonymous]

WJ (like many high schools) does not have enough space for all the students to eat lunch in the cafeteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do the high school students need to leave if they aren't committing any crimes?

DC area school systems like DCPS, MCPS, APS, etc., have had open campus since the 1970s. That privilege is not about to go away because there are too many kids eating out. MCPS has designed undersized cafeterias at renovated schools like B-CC, factoring the percentage of students who leave campus for lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to get lunch at Wildwood during the week, sitting at FlowerChild or Piccolo Piatti, but it's become impossible with the high school students. They buy bagels/starbucks/pizza at the cafeteria and sit at the tables outside of these restaurants. They go inside the restaurants, don't order there, but bring outside food in. The lunch is 11-12 it seems, so nearly peak lunch time. They aren't rude, just annoying and messy. WJ has a security guard and maybe a VP stand outside of Chipotle on the other side of Old Georgetown, but not in Wildwood.

Is it up to the restaurants to tell them to leave? WJ to tell them to stop? I think all four grades have one lunch period when any students are allowed to leave campus, but they have to buy their food and bring it back to the school.

No, they're allowed to eat wherever they like. There is no room inside the school cafeteria for even a fifth of the students. WJ has been overcrowded for YEARS, hence why they built Woodward HS nearby. These are kids who need to breathe fresh air at lunch!

[Anonymous]

Store owner: consents

Diner: consents

DCUM mama: aren't you forget someone?

[Anonymous]

The kids go over to Starbucks, Bethesda bagels etc all the time. No they are not bringing their lunches from home (that’s funny). Paying customers!

[Anonymous]

OP when did you see this change? I thought WJ has had open lunch forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you want stores to have fewer paying customers? This is a pretty Karen type complaint.

How are they paying customers if they don't purchase anything at the restaurants? Do you even read or do you just want to be contrary to OPs and throw "Karen" around like it means something?

DP. I read it. They are purchasing at the restaurants. OP's note is not to be taken at 100% face value IMO.