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Outer Banks Mom Approved. I've been thinking about this for a while now but I've been a little bit selfish. See, I have eaten at just about every single restaurant on the Outer Banks. I've shopped at every single store and I've even bought goldfish at ALL of the fish distributors on this sandbar. Sidenote: I have goldfish that are going on a year old... so, I'm telling you... I have a lot of knowledge in the consumerism department when it comes to the Outer Banks! But I knew that launching this program was going to take a lot of work!
I'm going to take a quick trip down memory lane to my last trip in Maine. My mom and I took my girls, ages 5 and 1, to the coast of Maine for a week of adventure and new experience. We were in awe of the rocky beaches and the cliffs of the coast and at the end of the day, we resorted to good old Yelp to help us find a great restaurant for dinner. We picked the one with the best reviews and we set out for a great meal only to be highly disappointed because the restaurant didn't allow a stroller or because they didn't even have highchairs! We were frustrated time after time when they didn't offer a kids menu at a standard beach cafe and we were even more so disappointed when we realized that I was charged a "Shared Plate Fee" for giving my one year old a few bites of my meal. Yes, I'm serious!
I got to thinking about how much better our vacation would be if I had more information on the restaurants from a tried and true source that I could trust, unlike Yelp!
A few months later my husband and I headed to Florida with all three kids and we had the same experience. We were spending a small fortune on restaurants that didn't even want our business!
When I returned home I realized that if this was something that I was experiencing on vacation then it was likely something that was happening in our own vacation paradise here on the Outer Banks. So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Outer Banks Mom Approved!
With an emphasis on highlighting kid-friendly businesses over advertising, we are sharing the businesses that make parenthood a little bit easier here on the Outer Banks! The only way that a local business can make this list is by invitation so you're not exposed to a list of those that have paid top dollar for a front page ad. You're getting our secret black book of Outer Banks Mom Approved businesses that are going to LOVE that you (and your kids) are there!
Keep an eye on Outer Banks Mom as we highlight the best of the best here on the Outer Banks! We're kicking it off with restaurants this week and we can't wait to watch this program grow! I'm excited to make vacationing a little bit easier for our 120,000+ weekly visitors by providing this resource to them and I know that if we want to keep our #1 Best Family Beach title, we're going to want to make sure they know our secret spots!
Keep an eye out for these stickers that are popping up on local businesses that let parents know that they are welcome!
