“Sue them!”: Toddler breaks $1,600 table at cafe. Mom says she was pressured to hand over credit card on the spot

A New Jersey mother said her coffee stop turned into an ordeal after her toddler accidentally toppled a pricey marble table.

Mother says Hazelnut Cafe demanded payment on the spot

According to Denman’s viral TikTok, café managers told her she couldn’t leave until she handed over her driver’s license and credit card details. She said she immediately offered to pay but still felt pressured to comply. Denman claimed a café owner later reiterated their “you break it, you pay for it” policy during a phone call.

Online sleuths were able to find the exact table that fell on Anthropologie’s website for $1,598. It is not meant to be used in a restaurant setting, and as one Redditor talking about the situation noted, “An expensive marble table from wherever, for home use, while expensive and beautiful, is not rated for the level of punishment a restaurant table can sustain—and as expensive as this table was, it wasn’t even home use qualified for eating, it was for looking.”

In the aftermath, Denman stayed another 20 minutes helping customers clear the marble pieces. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident.

@beautihut Broken table: $1600 – shame, embarssement, and mean girls robbing your dignity: priceless. I know I wasn’t put together and dolled up, but couldnt you have been just a bit kind? #meangirls #badbusiness #embarrassing #kidsoftiktok #momsoftiktok #needadvice #venting #rant #momlife #fyp ♬ original sound – Beautihut

Café responds, denies holding anyone

In a statement on Instagram, Hazelnut Cafe said it never held Denman against her will and did not charge her for the damage. They said they called her afterward to offer support and share their contact information, in direct opposition to what she claimed in her viral TikTok video.

Moreover, the café said it removed all tables from its locations to prevent similar accidents. “We are extremely grateful [everyone is] safe and unharmed,” the post read.

Hazelnut Cafe operates under the Hazel Boutique brand, owned by twin sisters Kimberly and Jenna Campfield. The business includes four New Jersey locations selling clothing and home décor. They turned off all comments on their TikTok page since Denman’s TikTok went viral.

Since the incident, Denman posted another TikTok saying the café had apologized for how her family was treated. She said she wanted to “move forward peacefully” and declined further comment.

Still, debate erupted online over whether the table was appropriate for a café setting. TikToker @tjds70 shared a clip that was taken down from the Hazelnut Cafe’s TikTok page, where the table clearly wobbles.

@tjds70 For the full story visit @Beautihut #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen #hazelboutique #hazelnutcafe ♬ original sound – tjds70

On a Reddit post about the situation, one commenter argued that restaurant furniture should prioritize durability over aesthetics. They compared the marble table to fragile home décor, saying commercial furniture must withstand daily wear and tear.

Additionally, the Redditor pointed out that expensive items can still be poor choices for high-traffic spaces if not designed for them. They argued that form should never come before function in environments where accidents are inevitable.

@BeautiHut did not respond immediately to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via Instagram DM.