A New Jersey mom says a trip for coffee and ice cream turned into a humiliating ordeal after her 3-year-old accidentally shattered a $1,600 marble table at a Jersey Shore café — and she claims staff wouldn’t let her leave until she handed over her ID and credit card.
The drama unfolded at Hazelnut Cafe in Lavallette, where surveillance footage shows the toddler bumping the hefty, 110-pound Anthropologie table with her foot. The crash sent the marble slab tumbling to the floor while mom Kathy Denman was in line to pay.
“I was completely humiliated and embarrassed,” Denman said in a now-viral TikTok video, adding she’d been in tears over the incident. She said she immediately offered to pay for the damage — but alleges staff told her she “wasn’t allowed to leave” until they had her personal and payment details.
Denman stayed for another 20 minutes as customers helped clear the debris. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The café later confirmed they’ve pulled all tables from their locations “as a precaution.”
In a follow-up TikTok post, Denman said the café eventually called to apologize for “how our family was treated” and that she hopes to “move forward peacefully.”
But Hazelnut Cafe, owned by twin sisters Kimberly and Jenna Campfield, posted their own version on Instagram — insisting they never held Denman against her will and that she was not charged for the damage.
“We are extremely grateful everyone was safe and unharmed,” their statement read.
The only thing more fragile than that marble table? The internet’s patience — and this viral debate over who was really in the wrong.
