NJ mom claims she wasn’t allowed to leave cafe after kid broke $1,600 table

A New Jersey mom claimed she was held at a café against her will after her 3-year-old daughter accidentally knocked over and broke a $1,600 marble table.

The incident happened at the Hazelnut Cafe in Lavallette, where surveillance footage viewed by NJ Advance Media showed the little girl hitting the table with her foot while her mother, Kathy Denman, was waiting in line to pay for their coffee and ice cream, she said in a viral TikTok video.

“I was completely humiliated and embarrassed,” she said, adding that she’s cried since the incident, which brought the nearly 110-pound marble table crashing to the ground.

Denman claimed managers of the store told her she “wasn’t allowed to leave” until she forked over her driver’s license and credit card information to pay for the table, despite “immediately” offering to pay for the damage.

It was not clear if she gave her credit card information to the café, but internet detectives quickly found the stately table in question at Anthropologie, where it retails for $1,598.

Later on, she said, one of the café’s owners told her on the phone “Our policy is: You break it, you pay for it.”

She said she stayed behind for another 20 minutes while customers helped pick up pieces of the broken stone tabletop. Nobody was hurt.

Since the mishap, Denman, who lives in Pompton Plains, posted a statement on TikTok saying the café has since called to apologize for “how our family was treated,” she wrote.

“We want to move forward peacefully and do not wish to comment on this matter any further.”

Hazelnut Cafe posted a statement to its Instagram page giving its side of the story.

“Following the incident, we personally called the child’s mother to express our concern, offer our support, and share our direct contact information should she need anything,” they wrote.

“As an added precaution, we have since removed all tables from our locations to eliminate any risk of a similar incident.”

They claimed they didn’t and would never hold anyone against their will, and said Denman was not charged for the damaged table.

“We are extremely grateful that the 3-year-old girl, her grandmother, mother and every customer who was present are safe and unharmed.”

The Hazelnut Cafe is part of the Hazel Boutique, a home decor and clothing brand with four New Jersey locations. It’s owned by twin sisters Kimberly and Jenna Campfield.