Antonia Sinibaldi says a New Jersey restaurant wrote ‘happy birthday wheelchair’ on her dessert, and their apology hasn’t changed her mind

Antonia Sinibaldi says she will never return to Blu on the Hudson after a staff member wrote “Happy Birthday Wheelchair” on her birthday dessert. The incident happened on June 20 during her 29th birthday celebration at the New Jersey restaurant. As reported by Ladbible, the restaurant has since apologized publicly, though Sinibaldi says the explanation falls short.

Sinibaldi told NBC the message left her stunned, saying “it offended me” and that the whole situation didn’t feel real. She has used a wheelchair and a ventilator since sustaining an incomplete spinal cord injury in 1999, when she was two years old, and a drunk driver struck the vehicle carrying her and her parents. In 2024, she also suffered a lack of oxygen-related brain injury that required her to relearn how to speak.

Blu on the Hudson later gave a statement to PEOPLE explaining that its standard procedure uses table and seat numbers to route dishes to the correct guest. In this case, the restaurant said “wheelchair” had been used internally as a note to identify where the dessert should go, and that the word was mistakenly transferred onto the plate itself. It maintained that there was no malicious intent behind the notation.

Sinibaldi says the apology missed the point entirely

Sinibaldi responded to the restaurant’s explanation on Instagram on August 25, calling it a “bs response.” She said her identity is not defined by her mobility aid, and told CBS News that people should know not to bring up her disability in every sentence. She also said staff appeared to rush her party out toward the end of the visit, which felt harder given her physical condition.

When she first raised the issue with restaurant management, she said they offered to send more drinks to the table, a response she said left her questioning what good that would actually do. The exchange unfolded the same week a Meta child safety settlement was also making headlines, though the two stories are unrelated. Sinibaldi added that her friends and family were angrier about the situation than she was.

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation, including restaurants. The broader law underscores that people with disabilities are entitled to the same respect and access as any other customer, even though this particular incident centered on a written note rather than a denial of service. Coverage of the incident came the same week as an unrelated Oklahoma Senate primary result drew attention elsewhere.

The restaurant said it has since reinforced its ticketing and communication procedures with staff and has attempted to reach Sinibaldi directly to apologize, though those attempts have not connected. Sinibaldi has said the damage is done and that she has no plans to return.