An Applebee’s manager whose 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.
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 severe 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, the restaurant manager was leaving for a neighboring Applebee’s location, and they discussed the tornado with McKenzine. 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,” she told Fox News 17.
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.
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 “peaked 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.
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“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.”
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The brick-built Applebee’s held up, even though it took 4 days to clean up the restaurant, with glass from the broken windows and spirit bottles finding its way into every conceivable nook and cranny. 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. “I’ve been called ‘hero’ a lot lately, and I laugh it off, but I guess I did what I felt I had to do.”
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