A Chili's in Longmont may be in hot water after mistakenly serving three children alcohol on Independence Day. Pam Bruenning, the mother of the children, said they stopped at the restaurant to cool off before the fireworks show and ordered three fruit smoothies.
After her children, ages 8, 6, and 1, had some of the beverage, her 8-year old complained about the taste. When Bruenning tasted the drink, she found it contained tequila.
A police report on the incident indicates a communication error between the server who took the order and the bartender is likely to blame. The order was entered into the system with the note "see server." The server instructed the bartender to distribute the drink evenly between three children's cups, but did not specify the drink should be nonalcoholic. The bartender did not read the entire ticket due to being extremely busy at the time.
The bartender told police he felt terrible about the error, and, despite being an odd order, "figured it was simply a table of adults who wanted to split the drink."
Bruenning isn't sure her children became intoxicated, though her 8-year-old passed out at the park during the fireworks show and her 6-year-old seemed "extra wild."
While the family has not decided whether to press charges against Chili's, police believe negligence charges might be possible as the drinks were poured into kid's cups.