<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hello GF Friends. A major restaurant chain is pulling its gluten free test
menu within the next month. With over 300 locations across the U.S., this
will be a loss to the celiac community. It is likely another 100
restaurants that belong to the parent chain will now not offer gluten free
menus.

I don't know if the restaurant staff was well versed in gluten-free or
not. I only know that they said when a few people called and asked if they
could guarantee a gluten-free meal, the restaurant froze.

And then when someone called (I have no clue how many or from what area)
to say they had a stomach ache, the restaurant panicked.

Instead of counting the number of gluten free meals they served and the
table sales, and the happy customers they made, they immediately feared a
law
suit from what they said were a couple of angry people.

Instead of the customer(s) trying to help determine with the restaurant
where the restaurant may have gone awry, the angry customer(s)said they
would take their business elsewhere. So the restaurant decided they would
rather not serve the gluten free customer at all. Us.

I, too, have no desire to be ill after dining at a restaurant. It is a
miserable 'dessert' after dinner.

And I also believe a restaurant should do everything they absolutely can
to make our meals as gluten-free as can be, particularly when they post a
gluten free menu.

But the reality is, there are no absolutes. There are no guarantees. There
is no 100%. We face a risk every time we dine out. Even with a gluten free
menu, we still need to ask questions and be alert. And if we are extremely
sensitive, we may chose to dine elsewhere - at a restaurant that is not a
s
new to gluten free.

I, and probably many of you, have dined out successfully at many different
restaurants, with or without a gluten free menu. It can be done....and is
done...every single day.

I am sorry to hear this restaurant chain had this experience. Perhaps the
restaurant needed more training, or perhaps it determined the profits did
not outweigh the liabilities in the sort term.

We all encounter a learning curve in this gluten-free life - restaurants,
as well as doctors, dietitians, etc.

I hope none of the restaurant board members sit on other restaurant boards
and persuades them to withdraw their gluten free menus or their opening of
the door to us, based on their short term experience.

I hope I have not offended anyone, and if I did, I sincerely apologize.
LynnRae www.whatnowheat.com, www.lynnrae.com

* Please carefully compose your subject lines in all posts *