ATLANTA — A family says they went to a popular local restaurant to celebrate their child’s 15th birthday. But the child doesn’t remember much about the outing because she was mistakenly served an alcoholic drink.
Channel 2’s Tom Jones was at a news conference outside the Sugar Factory on Peachtree Street, where attorneys for the family say this is happening too often.
Chanterri Grier shared a video of a server at the restaurant pouring a concoction into a glass for her daughter to celebrate her 15th birthday. She shared the video because she wanted people to see the harmful effects of alcohol on minors.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The video shows her daughter, Corese, taking a sip from the drink. “Oh, my God,” someone says in the video. “Oh ah ha ha,” Corese says in excitement after taking a sip.
“Corese, get up,” someone says later in the video, as Corese has her head on the table and her mood goes from excited to somber. Her mother says that’s because servers mistakenly gave her an alcoholic beverage.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I can’t believe this is happening to my child,” Grier said.
Grier says the alcoholic drink was meant for her husband.
Corese says she doesn’t remember much about her big day because of the alcohol.
“I just remember I was crying a lot. And then, like, the next morning, I woke up sick,” the teenager described.
RELATED STORIES:
- ‘They shouldn’t even be open:’ Third mother claims midtown Atlanta restaurant served minors alcohol
- Another mother claims Atlanta restaurant served her kids alcohol
- Mother claims Atlanta restaurant served alcohol to kids at birthday dinner
“Now, this is not just careless. It’s unlawful and unacceptable,” their attorney, Reginald Greene, said.
“This cannot happen to another child,” attorney Jarrod Mumford said.
Attorneys say they have at least 10 cases of the restaurant serving alcohol to children, which they call a systemic failure on multiple levels.
“At the server level, at the management level and at the government level,” Greene said.
They’ve file lawsuits against the filed Sugar Factory in the past, and they plan to file a lawsuit in this case.
“We have to seek justice for these children,” Mumford said.
Corese says the Sugar Factory workers apologized but it didn’t stop her tears.
“I was just emotional, and it was a lot. My birthday was ruined,” she said.
A manager at the restaurant had no comment. Jones reached out to the Sugar Factory’s corporate office and is still waiting for a response.
Jones asked Atlanta police about the number of complaints it has received about the restaurant serving alcohol to minors and what actions were taken. A spokesperson said the department was compiling that information and would have an answer next week.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
