by Kevin Burton
All’s well that ends well when you are dining out. And that doesn’t always mean having a tasty dessert.
Things do tend to end well when we’re hearing from the Good News Network. Today GNN’S Andy Corbley writes of a restaurant manager whose quick thinking saved lives when severe weather hit in the neighborhood on March 6.
“An Applebee’s manager who has been afraid of storms since she was a child, nevertheless stepped up to rapidly lead her staff and guests to safety as a tornado was barreling towards the restaurant,” Corbley wrote.
“It was a normal Friday at the Applebee’s in Three Rivers, Michigan, when all of a sudden Aubrey McKenzie saw the weather service issuing a tornado warning.”
“When we got the tornado warning, we’re like, ‘Aw, there’s no way, like, it’s beautiful outside.’ And then it turned serious very, very quickly,” McKenzie told Wilcox Newspapers. “It hit so fast and so unexpectedly. I’m glad that everybody was able to get somewhere somewhat safe and able to walk away and tell their story.”
“At the time, another restaurant manager was leaving for a neighboring Applebee’s location, and he discussed the tornado with McKenzie. Both more or less came to the conclusion that they had seen dozens of tornado warnings come to nothing in their lives, and that it was a beautiful day. In short, they were prepared to ignore it—but only for about ten seconds.
“I came back in and I heard everybody’s phone going off, like, blaring; every guest, every bartender, everybody,” McKenzie said.
“Conditions were so obviously changing fast, and before long, she could see the funnel cloud outside.”
“Admittedly panicked, McKenzie tapped into that Friday-night dinner rush spirit—when any server or bartender has to stay calm amid the million things they need to do. McKenzie asked herself “what do I have to do right now?” and her response was quick and orderly,” Corbley wrote.
“She led all the guests and staff into the prep kitchen where there are no windows. It was a tight squeeze, but it was their best chance of shelter. After everyone was inside, she ‘peeked her head out’ one last time, and saw that a man and his dog were sitting in a pickup truck outside the restaurant, as well as a boy on his phone, who seemed like he was waiting for someone. She told the man and the boy to come inside immediately.”
“’I think he was waiting for his dad or something, I don’t know, but I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the back and everything,” McKenzie told Wilcox.”
“Then the tornado hit.”
“Your ears were popping, but then you could also hear the glass shattering from the dining room. It’s exactly how you would imagine it would be standing in the middle of a tornado. Shattering, like things hitting everything. It sounded like a freight train.”
“According to the National Weather Service, the EF-2 tornado topped out with winds at 130 miles per hour.”
“The brick building held up, even though it took four days to clean up the restaurant, with glass from the broken windows and spirit bottles finding its way into every conceivable nook and cranny,” Corbley wrote. “ New vacuums had to be bought, new carpets too, but not one single person was hurt.”
“I was surprised that I was able to get everybody, and be that organized in that short amount of time,” she admitted.
“The tornado that ravaged Three Rivers was the fourth to hit Michigan that day. There were no fatalities reported in Three Rivers, but ten people were injured as a result of the storm.”
“The figure could have been far greater if not for McKenzie’s quick thinking.”
“I’ve been called a hero a lot lately, and I like to laugh it off. I don’t know. I just felt like I did what I was supposed to do,” she said.
Page 7 