Abuelo's becomes first certified restaurant in Kissimmee, FL

Sept. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- Abuelo’s, The Flavor of Mexico, located in the Hunters Creek area of Kissimmee becomes the first restaurant in the area to be certified kid-friendly by the kid-friendly dining experts at MyKidsPlate.com.  

MyKidsPlate.com lists restaurants whose environment and staff make kids feel welcome and incorporate them in the dining experience. Certain restaurants can become certified after completing a process that includes a secret diner evaluation of 30 different attributes.

“This Abuelo’s is located in the heart of a major shopping plaza and many family-filled neighborhoods. Their location and great food made them a perfect candidate for kid-friendly certification,” said Julie Casey, owner of MyKidsPlate.com. “We conducted a secret shop analysis and worked with management to identify additional opportunities. They were open to the idea of improving and becoming more kid-friendly.”

As part of the certification process, restaurants add or change things about their kid’s menu, their service, and the activities they offer families. Abuelo’s already had a kid’s menu and activity book in place which is important to families that take kids out to eat. To step it up a notch they added step stools in the restrooms so kids can reach the sink and toys and games for kids to play while they wait for a table or wait for their food.

“We realize we are in an area with a lot of families,” said Michael Codner, General Manager of the Abuelo’s Kissimmee. “With that in mind we also added a Kids Eat Free offer on Thursdays. One kid gets a free kid’s meal for each adult entrée purchased, every Thursday and all day.”

The restaurant’s certification doesn’t stop there. Secret shoppers may be sent in unannounced to conduct check-up evaluations. Plus guests can go to MyKidsPlate.com any time and choose the ‘rate a restaurant’ button to give reviews on how Abuelo’s is doing.

MyKidsPlate.com has been rating restaurants since 2007. The attributes that define a restaurant kid-friendly are obtained from research by adults that take kids out to eat. To contribute to the definition of kid-friendly, go to MyKidsPlate.com.

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MyKidsPlate.com is the kid-friendly dining authority certifying restaurants as kid-friendly based on 30 attributes deemed important by parents. MyKidsPlate.com provides a calendar of Kids Eat Free nights in many cities and offers the Kids Eat Free Card.