JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — An East Tennessee father out for a meal with his family at their local Applebee’s was upset after the restaurant served his children alcohol.
Scottie Barnett said his children, ages 9,10 and 11, asked the waitress for root beer.
“We walked in, we got seated, we asked for something to drink,” Barnett said. “My kids said they wanted root beer, so she said ‘Okay, fine.’ She brought them what appeared to me as root beer.”
The bottles were labeled “Not Your Father’s Root Beer”, reported WTVF.
The beverage was 6% alcohol.
According to WKRN, the 9 and 10-year-old both drank some of the beverage before Barnett realized the mistake.
“I immediately told my kids to stop drinking the alcoholic beverage and brought it to her attention,” Barnett said. “And she said ‘no, no, it’s root beer.’ I said ‘no it’s not.’ And so she grabs one of the bottles, and she goes to the back of the bottle.”
The youngest child complained of stomach pain and was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
He has since been released from the hospital and is expected to be okay.
To make the situation worse, Barnett later discovered the restaurant doesn’t even serve root beer.
An Applebee’s spokesperson released the following statement:
“Sincere apologies were made, the family accepted dinner as our guests and immediate re-training of all team members on duty took place. Re-training of all team members of all the restaurants operated by this owner will be completed tomorrow.”
According to the spokesperson, strictly guidelines are in place at the restaurants to prevent this type of incident from happening.
The employee was suspended pending an internal investigation.
A report was not filed in the incident as it was deemed not criminal in nature.
