Families With Food Allergies

By Mary Lou Budziak

A quick visit to Rockne's in Brooklyn, Ohio, proved to be a welcoming experience. We inquired about the frequency of visits from patrons with severe food allergies.

"We do have families with severe food allergies and we make every effort possible to help people with food allergies to get good food here," said General Manager Dusty Fumich. He has been with Rockne's for nearly five years. One family, in particular, came to mind.

"We had a family here with a young son with severe food allergies. He wanted something to eat (NOW) and his parents were frantic. He said that the boy's parents pleaded with the server, "'Isn't there anything you can serve our son?' The parents explained that he normally doesn't get to go out to eat. He had a severe food allergy. I, personally, went into the kitchen and checked all the labels for the popular foods enjoyed by kids his age. I cut off the label from a container of chicken tenders so that the parents could rest assured that the boy would not suffer an allergic reaction. They were relieved. We served the boy and he really enjoyed his food and his parents were so grateful to us. Our concept is 'Great food. Great Fun.'"

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Comment by Rob Gura:
Be aware that Rockne's fries all their food in the same fryers. My kids had a reaction to french fries from there due to cross-contamination from egg-battered items in the fryer.
I'm sure this is probably a common procedure and you should be aware of this danger with any fried foods from any restaurant.