Applebee's accused of serving margarita to toddler

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

AP Photo, file

(CBS/WWJ) DETROIT - This was a kid's meal like no other. The mother of a toddler says an Applebee's in a Detroit suburb served him an alcoholic drink instead of apple juice.

According to CBS affiliate WWJ, Taylor Dill-Reese says soon after her 15-month-old son drank what actually turned out to be a margarita, she noticed that he wasn't behaving normally.

"He was a little out there," Dill-Reese told the station. "He was saying 'hi and bye' to the walls and he eventually laid his head down on the table, and we thought that maybe he was just sleepy."

So the concerned mother rushed her son to a nearby hospital, and when he was checked out by doctors, it turned out his blood alcohol level was .10. That's over the legal limit for an adult driver.

The local Applebee's manager has apologized and the chain restaurant's national office called the incident unacceptable.

An investigation by the chain is being launched into the incident.

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by Wildwood1966 April 11, 2011 2:49 PM EDT: this happened to us in a Mexician resturant - 3 year old served drink in the "child's cup' with straw in it - there should noe be any reason why a barteneder would make the drinks for children - this should be in a separate place - children could get serioudly hurt or killed - we got a tiny apology (they were busy etc) but if it keeps happening (as this story helps prove )lawsuits will happen!; Reply to this comment


by ValRae34 April 11, 2011 10:55 AM EDT: This absolutely DOES happen.... for those of you have already responded and are skeptical. This also happened to me at my local Applebees. The reason it happens, is because the store puts drinks on special, for my local Applebees it was a Long Island Ice Tea instead of a Margarita. They premix the drink, alcohol included... and put them into a plastic bottles which are identical to the bottles that hold the juice then they label them and keep them behind the bar, TOGETHER. You can see how easy it is when the bartender is busy to accidentally grab the wrong bottle and think nothing of it! They put the drinks in a kids cup with a lid and a straw. I received the same apology and a promise to investigate the incident. I never go anywhere now without testing my son's drink before he gets it!; Reply to this comment


by orangecounty1 April 11, 2011 10:11 AM EDT: Sorry, this story is BS! I dnn't buy any of it.; Reply to this comment

by 1176894 April 11, 2011 9:40 AM EDT

could his mother not tell the difference between apple juice and a margarita,they don't look the same and they sure don't smell the same.are we looking for a law suit maybe

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by pak31 April 11, 2011 10:19 AM EDT: It's a hard to believe story but the story doesn't say clearly enough how the drink was delivered. I keep reading sippy cup so did the restaurant pour the drink directly into the sippy cup for him? Did they bring the "apple juice" to the table and the mom poured it into the sippy cup or did he get a drink in one of those kid cups with a straw and lid? If the mom poured it in herself she should have known, otherwise I don't know how many parents get kiddie drinks for their kids then open up the lid and taste it to make sure it's not alcohol. It's hard to believe though that after just a couple of sips he was that drunk. Applebee's has done this before, twice it has been documented.