ANTIOCH, Calif. -- A toddler who fell ill after he was served a margarita at a restaurant earlier this week is doing well, and investigators say the incident appears to have been an accident.

Police say 2-year-old Julian Mayorga ordered apple juice but instead received an alcoholic beverage in a covered, plastic sippy cup on Monday night at an Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar franchise in Antioch, between San Francisco and Sacramento.

The boy's mother, Kim Mayorga, said she noticed Julian making funny faces and pushing away his cup. She opened the lid and was hit by the smell of tequila and Triple Sec. The toddler grew drowsy and started vomiting a few hours later before he was rushed to the hospital.

"I wasn't going to make a big deal about it," the mother said Thursday, "but then he got sick."

Randy Tei, vice president for Apple Bay East Inc., which owns 10 franchises in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, said the Antioch restaurant keeps apple juice and the premixed margarita concoction in identical-looking plastic bottles on ice behind the bar. A manager on duty mistakenly grabbed the margarita bottle instead of the apple juice jug, Tei said.

The company will reimburse the Mayorgas for their medical bills. All Applebee's in the Pleasanton-based franchise group will no longer keep the juice and margarita mix in similar-looking containers, Tei said.

"We absolutely believe it was an honest mistake," Tei said. The serving appeared to have been accidental, Antioch police Lt. Pat Welch said.

Applebee's International Inc. spokeswoman Laura Tigges did not return a call seeking comment from The Associated Press on Friday. The Overland Park, Kan.-based company is the world's largest casual dining restaurant concept, with more than 1,900 restaurants.