4-Year-Old Gulps Drink & Starts Complaining. Waitress Runs Over, Petrified by Mistake
Mark Thomas will not be returning to Frankie & Benny’s for a burger with his 4-year-old daughter, Evelyn, and his fiancee Kate.
Though the restaurant tried to make up for a mistake by giving Thomas a free meal voucher, this concerned father does not feel this offer was consistent with the severity of the mistake.
The problem wasn’t that their food was cold. It wasn’t a matter of a long wait time.
The drink that young Evelyn was served resulted in a trip to the hospital. On Dec. 20, the family drove around to drop off Christmas cards at family and friends’ front doors.
Frankie & Benny’s would be their last stop as a reward for Evelyn’s cooperation. She ordered a “Fruity Sunrise” from the kids menu.
It was under the heading of “Kid’s Fruit Softails” and was supposed to contain orange juice, apple juice, and grenadine.
Evelyn was thirsty after driving from door to door to drop off Christmas cards so she took a huge gulp of the drink once it arrived.
Her face showed disgust. Thomas and Kate were confused because though Evelyn can be a picky eater, she usually likes juice.
They encouraged her to continue drinking it thinking she was just being fussy. Then, the waitress ran over petrified by her mistake.
“I’m so sorry, I really am sorry, I’ve given your daughter a real cocktail,” the waitress explained.
Thomas responded, “Seriously? Oh, ok, well thank you for coming over before she drank any more.”
As Evelyn stood on the seat in the booth and began to dance, Thomas and Kate were shocked. Their 4-year-old was acting drunk.
She couldn’t walk in a straight line. The quick absorption of alcohol in a child along with the potential for blood sugar levels to quickly drop worried Thomas.
A doctor advised them to take Evelyn to the hospital to be examined as a precaution. Unfortunately, she suffered her first hangover at the age of four but has recovered.
He questioned the incident on his blog by writing, “How does someone put alcohol in a kid’s glass and hand it to them? Is it as simple as someone doing just that, or is there a fault in the procedure that would give rise to the chance of this happening?”
Frankie & Benny’s spokesman did come out with a statement expressing their sincere apologies. Thomas isn’t seeking money from his decision to publicly share this story, but understandably wants the restaurant to ensure a similar incident doesn’t risk the health and safety of another child.
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