FIRST SIP ® June 2011 Vol. 23 No. 5 Protecting Our Kids O
ur industry has experienced some challenges over the past few months with the news that children were
accidentally given alcohol in their sippy cups in a handful of chain restaurants. Th e operators have apologized and the kids are alright, so we can exhale. It’s a scary situation. Certainly it has
happened before, but not in the global spotlight where everything is immediately reported online. Is has also certainly not happened given the new, and often merited, level of concern manifested these days about every ramifi cation of children’s well being. So what can operators, particularly in family-
friendly restaurants, do to make their locations safer for children and comfortably welcoming places for parents? Perhaps they could create alcohol-free dining times? Or perhaps dedicate a separate section to families with kids where no alcoholic beverages are served? However, it often seems pretty ambitious and hard to execute. No one wants to hearken
back to the era of Prohibition. Perhaps we need a combination of more vigilant parents and better staff training on-premise. Th e two could go hand-in-hand towards preventing future problems, calming consumers at large and making the general public feel safe taking their kids to restaurants again. In as much as a parent would smell or look at the hamburger their child was served,
perhaps in this day and age they (sadly) need to do the same with the contents of the sippy cup. Th ere also has to be, apparently, more comprehensive staff training at restaurants about sourcing of beverages and cleaning glasses so there’s less confusion. Might this will be a great opportunity for the general public and the restaurant business to
work together to avoid future mishaps? It would be phenomenal, but will take a fair amount of patience and understanding from both sides. I welcome your feedback on this topic.
Cheers!
Liza B. Zimmerman Editor-in-Chief
Executive Vice President, Group Publisher Charles Forman Tel (845) 426-6072
cforman@m2media360.com Editor-in-Chief
Liza B. Zimmerman Tel (415) 839-5062
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