Toddler's Alcoholic Drink Prompts Changes At Applebee's

Madison Heights— Applebee's is changing the way it serves juice after a 15-month-old boy mistakenly was served an alcohol-infused margarita mix instead of apple juice at one of the chain's outlets here.
At least three similar reports, dating back to 2006, have been reported at Applebee's restaurants in the United States.

Dominic Dill-Reese of Oak Park began acting strangely Friday afternoon after taking a few drinks from a "sippy cup" at an Applebee's in Madison Heights.


The boy's mother said he eventually laid his head down on the table.


She found his drink tasted like alcohol, later determined to be part of an alcohol-infused margarita mix police believe was from a mislabeled bottle at the bar. He was later found to have 0.10 alcohol level, greater than when a motorist is determined to be driving intoxicated in Michigan.


Madison Heights Police did not return calls Monday, but Melissa Racer, a spokeswoman for Applebee's, released a statement saying the Michigan incident is being investigated internally as well as by local police. The statement also said it has prompted Applebee's to change its policy of dispensing and storing fruit juice.


"We want to express how thankful we are that the child involved in the incident at our restaurant in Madison Heights, Mich., on April 8, was not seriously injured as a result of accidentally receiving the wrong beverage," the statement read. "We also want to apologize to his parents, for the stress and worry this caused them. …"


The company statement said in part that a Police Department report confirmed "the child was served a trace amount of alcohol."


Applebee's said it was taking "actions to help prevent a reoccurrence":


It is changing the way it serves apple juice to youngsters. It will pour the juice "only from single-serve containers served at the table," beginning this week.


It is immediately retraining servers on beverage pouring policy, "emphasizing that nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages must be stored in completely separate and identified containers."


In a related matter, Chad Wuthrick of Salem, Ohio, told The News his wife and year-old daughter had a similar experience after ordering apple juice at an Applebee's in Hermitage, Pa., on Dec. 3.


"After she took a drink she started gagging and spit it out," he said.


In June 2007, a 2-year-old Antioch, Calif., boy was served a margarita drink instead of apple juice at an Applebee's. A year earlier, a 5-year-old New York City boy was given a Long Island iced tea.