"I don’t know. I just felt like I did what I was supposed to do," manager Aubrey McKenzie said after the incident
Credit: Fox 17 WXMI/YouTube
NEED TO KNOW
- A woman led 50 customers and staff to safety in the restaurant’s kitchen during a tornado in Three Rivers, Mich.
- “Your ears were popping. It was loud,” Aubrey McKenzie recalled about the tornado, which reached speeds of approximately 130 miles per hour
- McKenzie, who overcame her fear of storms, has been called a hero but added she just “tried to remain calm”
An Applebee's manager stepped in to save the day during a tornado, bringing a new meaning to going above and beyond for their customers.
Aubrey McKenzie, who manages the local Applebee's in Three Rivers, Mich., led 50 customers and staff to the restaurant's kitchen, in order to save them when a tornado struck on March 6.
The EF-2 tornado reached maximum winds of 130 miles per hour, according to preliminary data provided by the National Weather Service.
"I knew what my position was in this building. And what I needed to do. So I tried to remain calm. And get everybody where they needed to be. It was fast moving," McKenzie told Fox 17 West Michigan.
"We got back there, like, maybe a minute and a half. And then, we were back there for like five to seven minutes until everyone was like, 'It’s okay to come out,' " she added.
The outlet reported that the effects of the tornado are still visible nearly three weeks later.
Debris from Menards, a nearby store that was also impacted by the severe weather, hit the Applebee's. Inside, the wood paneling was cracked. McKenzie noted that windows blown out by the winds had already been repaired.
"Everything that flew off of Menards hit us," she said.
Menards was significantly damaged. Store spokesperson Jeff Abbott told WWMT that "most of our structure" was damaged in the storm.
“Fortunately, the early warning system provided notice so our employees and customers could swiftly locate to a place of safety," Abbott added.
McKenzie noted that she was "thankful" that the restaurant survived relatively unscathed.
"It's a brick building, I’m thankful for a brick building," she said, adding, "Your ears were popping. It was loud. Like, you would, by the sound of it think these walls weren’t going to hold."
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Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty
McKenzie fought her fear of storms and felt "surprised" that she was able to get everyone inside the kitchen. "I’ve been called a hero a lot lately, and I like laugh it off. I don’t know. I just felt like I did what I was supposed to do," she said.
There were no injuries to anyone sheltered in the Applebee's kitchen with McKenzie. Ten people in total were injured along the tornado's almost 11-mile run, WWMT reported.
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