Applebee's serves margarita to toddler

by Jonathon Morgan (Subscribe to Jonathon Morgan's posts) Jun 16th 2007 8:02AM

Categories: Places To Go, Health & Safety, Eating & Nutrition

I never think to check my daughter's sippy cup when we're out at restaurant. If we ask for water, I assume they'll put water in the cup. Maybe, in a worst-case scenario, they'd screw up and give her juice -- a simple mistake, that certainly wouldn't cause her any harm.

However, perhaps I should be more careful, as an Applebee's in Antioch, California accidentally served a toddler margarita in his sippy cup instead of apple juice.

The boy's mother didn't know anything was wrong until a few hours later when her son started getting drowsy, felt sick, and started vomiting. After she rushed him to the hospital, she learned that alcohol was to blame.

This is such an obvious screw-up that it almost has to be on purpose, right? What reason could there possibly be for putting an alcoholic beverage into a cup designed for a preschool-aged child?

Fortunately the boy is doing fine, but someone's sick prank (or incredibly stupid mistake) could've led to far more serious consequences.

Source

Comments (90)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)

Sam 6-16-2007 @ 9:57AM

From what I've read in other articles, it wasn't a prank but an unfortunate (and stupid) mistake. At that restaurant, the drinks come out of high-pressure nozzles for quick filling, so at least it wasn't an instance of someone actually pouring and mixing a margarita in a sippy cup - just someone likely trained to put out the drinks as fast as possible without checking their work.

Sunshine 6-16-2007 @ 10:38AM

Yes, the article I read said the margarita drink and apple juice are kept in the same type of containers and the manager at the restaurant said it was an honest mistake.
The article also said the mom did notice it was a margarita when her toddler wouldn't drink it. She wasn't going to make a big deal of it until her child got sick. That's a change from all the litigation happy parents!

Kathleen 6-16-2007 @ 1:57PM

That's horrible of course as it could have been fatal but I have never thought of giving my sippy cup to someone to fill. I would order a drink and have it come in a cup, then put some in the sippy cup myself.

Heather Coleman 6-18-2007 @ 8:10PM

Did anyone think the child may have gotten drunk on some hand sanitizer???

Rhonda 6-18-2007 @ 8:12PM

I think that there is no way that could have been a mistake.. unless whoever did it was maybe Paris Hiltons twin, in that case I would plead the 5th LOL.. nope.. I would be hiring me a lawyer in a heartbeat! and somebody would pay some medical bills somewhere...!

GoGators8244 6-18-2007 @ 8:14PM

As a person that worked in a chain restaurant for 10 years, I do believe this was an innocent mistake. The problem is that an employee was probably drinking from this kids cup. As a bartender the only time I put alcohol in a kids cup was when I was making a drink for an employee. Any drink with alcohol is never allowed in a kids cup.

Kim M 6-18-2007 @ 8:27PM

I hope the parents do sue the restaurant, unfortuately the only way some companies learn to take their heads out of their asses is to hit them in their wallets.

JD 6-18-2007 @ 8:29PM

Maybe the kid was being loud and obnoxious, as most toddlers can be while out at dinner. And maybe the wait staff thought it would quiet him down. I guess nexttime they shouldn't fill the cup all the way!

pach120192 6-18-2007 @ 8:30PM

I work as a bartender at Applebees and the margarita mix and apple juice are kept in similiar containers. The thing is though that there is no tequila mixed in with the margarita mix, that must be added independently of the mix. I would be interested to know if it actually contained alcohol or was just the mix.

Lady R 6-18-2007 @ 8:31PM

WHY IN H*LL WOULD YOU SEND YOUR CHILD'S CUP BACK THERE TO BE FILLED IN THE FIRST PLACE??? WHO DOES THAT? ALL SORTS OF FILTH GOES ON IN RESTAURANT KITCHENS AND ALCOHOL IS THE LEAST OF MY CONCERNS. SOMEONE SNEEZING ON OR IN THE CUP OR URINATING AS WE'VE SEEN IN THE CONSUMER REPORTS ARE MORE COMMON AND I'D TAKE A CHANCE ON MY OWN DRINK BUT NEVER MY CHILD'S.

Joanna Schmida 6-18-2007 @ 8:48PM

Why are Americans always ready to sue somebody? When my kids were 6 and 7, we flew to Disney World. My youngest ordered a coke, and the flight attendant inadvertantly brought him a rum and coke. After a couple of sips he said: "Mom this coke tastes like sherry." (He had tasted a sip of sherry from my glass at Christmas.) We called the stew and she immediately apologized and rectified the situation. We all had a laugh, and carried on. No drama. No lawsuits. End of story.

Bunny 6-18-2007 @ 8:48PM

There was no mistake. I am a bartender and the alcohol is not automatically in the spigot that has marguerita mix. It is added separately. That is the law!! And... what on earth would one employee be doing putting alcohol in a sippy cup for another employee. They are on duty and are drinking on the job and probably robbing the owner blind. If I were the manager of that Applebee's, I would be doing some serious checking and some serious firing!

SB 6-18-2007 @ 8:52PM

A similar incident happened to a co-worker of mine. She's in her mid-twenties now, but when she was preschool age she and her mom had lunch at a popular seafood chain resturant. Her mom ordered an alcohol drink for herself and a virgin one for her daughter. The drinks were mixed and my co-worker go the one meant for her mom. She said her mom later told her that she thought her drink tasted funny because she couldn't taste the alcohol,meanwhile her daughter was acting loopy, lauging, her speech slurred and she feel asleep in the resturant. Thankfully she didn't drink all of the alcohol and didn't get sick. When her mom figured out what happened she was really upset.

cliantha 6-18-2007 @ 8:53PM

i work at applebees as well, at our store liquor is already mixed into the margarita batch. our apple juice is in a similiar bottle but is required to be labeled. it is an unfortunate mistake but if something was mislabeled or not labeled at all it would be easy to confuse.

Zip 6-18-2007 @ 8:55PM

Who's to say that the mother didn't put the Margarita in the sippy cup herself? She is probably financially hurting and needed a way to find a way out of her debts. People can be so sick nowadays!

Cherub1956 6-18-2007 @ 8:55PM

While dining at Red Robin burgers, After ordering a root beer float I was given a glass of rootbeer and a seperate glass of ice cream. I was a bit surprised to be given my rootbeer flaot in such a manner but figured I'd go with the flow. Too bad that after my first sip I realized that my rootbeer was really a glass of beer. The waiter had grabbed the wrong glass off the bar. After complaining I was told that what I was supposed to get was a bottle of rootbeer and a glass of icecream. The idea being that I would get the full amount of soda to top off the ice cream with at my convienence. I'm just glad that I didn't let my 4 year old grandson have the first sip this time!

Samantha 6-18-2007 @ 8:55PM

More than likely the mother put alcohol in the sippy cup and wanted to make some money off Applebees. The sippy cup would have to leave the table for someone to blame another. That is unusual. Normally one asks for juice or water and then transfers into cup. She took the child home and it got sick. I think Mommy did it.

Ruth 6-19-2007 @ 10:07PM

When we all get to be perfect, then we can all blame and complain. Until then, be quiet and be responsible for what goes on in your life. A little common sense goes a long way. Try it sometime, it really works!

amy 6-18-2007 @ 9:16PM

At a wing joint here in Virginia, I ordered my son (then 3yrs) an orange juice and when I went to pour it into his sippy cup, I noticed it smelled a bit odd, I tasted it and there was vodka in it. I told the waitress and she said "That can't be..." I assured her it was and offered her a drink. She took it back, came back with a regular oj and said "it was not vodka, but a mixture of juices that the bartender makes in the morning and has with his breakfast, and it just tasted a little different, but deffinetly not vodka". Just trying to cover their butts!

Ric 6-18-2007 @ 9:17PM

The best and simplest way to avoid this issue is to have the Bar staff responsible for producing only alcoholic beverages for the dining room.

Servers should have access to beverage dispensing equipment, glassware etc... for all non alcoholic beverages served to their tables.

If the servers are responsible for making all non alcoholic beverages for their tables, and they have no access to alcohol the possibility of this error being repeated is zero.

A better system implemented by Applebee's would totally eliminate the possibility of a repeat occurrence.

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