LAYTON — A dozen seagulls circled above the Layton High School parking lot Wednesday afternoon, occasionally swooping in to shop the leftover fast-food sacks.
Today's asphalt smorgasbord could be decidedly larger and distinctly south of the border for the gulls: Taco Time is no longer letting high school students eat inside the establishment. Owner Eric Dickson is pulling himself partially out of the noontime food chain because rowdy teens are driving away other patrons.
Taco Time, 329 N. Main, the hub of four high schools in an 8-mile radius, is takeout only for students.
Dickson owns Taco Time establishments in three other cities — Logan, Centerville and North Salt Lake — but Layton is the only store shut to students.
The decision was a year in the making and comes after taking numerous steps with both students and school administrators to try to stop food fights and other disruptions from turning his place into a gustatory purgatory, Dickson said.
"Basically, we don't have anything against high school students but a tiny percentage of them have ruined the atmosphere and experience for the others," he said.
The Layton Taco Time has seats for 39 customers, and when 20 or more students were inside acting rudely, it caused a problem, he said.
Layton senior Jake Strebel, 17, said he doesn't eat often at Taco Time, believes the policy is "kind of stupid."
Assistant Principal Dee Burton said Wednesday said he told the mother of a complaining student that the business has the right to serve whomever it chooses.
"That's their right as a business, and I support that right. There are lots of places in Layton for students to eat. It's a business' prerogative to take care of its business.
"My original concern was that they might be judging the whole Layton High School on the actions of a few kids and denying only Layton High students the right to eat there. However, we understand they are not allowing any students access" to their dining room, Burton said.
Morgan McGuire, 17, also a senior, said several of the teachers went over to eat at Taco Time during Wednesday's lunch and her sociology class discussed the issue.
"I think they might be judging students by their appearance," she said, adding, "I have some friends who can go in there and eat and some who can't."
E-mail: lweist@desnews.com