The type of service a customer receives can either make or break the experience of dining out. One couple who went out to eat at an upscale restaurant in Dallas, Texas found out what it really means to receive top-shelf service with a heaping helping of kindness. Read more.
Food
New Restaurant in New York Designed By and For Disabled People
Yannick Benjamin and George Gallego, both wheelchair users, have created one of America’s most accessible restaurants, right in the heart of East Harlem in New York City. Contento, as it is called, is a casual restaurant with a Peruvian flair – and lots of accessibility.
The restaurant’s accessibility features include a lowered bar top for wheelchair users, space to maneuver a wheelchair between tables, a QR code activated menu accessible to screen readers and a truly accessible bathroom on the same floor as dining room.
After Benjamin was involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, he began dreaming of a restaurant that would welcome all patrons – including disabled guests. Consento, the finished product contains “small modifications that can go a long way” toward improving accessibility, something Benjamin says isn’t often done by other restaurants.
He hopes that Consento will contribute to changing the way people think about disability, inspiring a sense of empathy and understanding.
To learn more about the Consento restaurant, read the article from NBC’s TODAY.
Turning the Tables: Tokyo Restaurant Simulates the Disabled Experience for Nondisabled Diners
A Japanese restaurant has embarked on a social experiment – by attempting to reverse the positions of wheelchair users and nondisabled people. The restaurant, named “Barrierful” in Japanese, offers nondisabled people the opportunity to experience barriers as part of a minority, which will hopefully provoke discussions about disabilities and inclusion.
Among the barriers faced by nondisabled patrons are low ceilings (just five and a half feet tall), no seating areas and a buffet station set low to the floor for wheelchair access. In this experiment, the majority of customers and staff in the restaurant were wheelchair users, indicating to nondisabled guests that design is biased toward the majority.
OUR TAKE: This restaurant experiment can help to create awareness about how designing for the majority causes problems for minority groups. Perhaps experiences such as this could encourage the adoption of universal design principles, which creates access for all.
To read more about the Barrierful restaurant, click here.
Indian Café Reopens Following an “Accessibility Makeover”
The Downtown Café, a popular dining establishment in Patna, Bihar, India, is set to reopen following an “accessibility makeover.” Café owner Astik Kumar was encouraged to make the improvements after he witnessed a physically disabled family member struggle to get inside.
Among the accessibility features installed were an accessible toilet, a ramp to enter the building and wheelchairs available to customers who need them. Braille menu cards have also been printed for visually impaired customers, and there are plans to invest further in making the space more accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
On speaking about his goals, Asik said that “my aim is to make The Downtown Cafe inclusive in every sense of the word.” He said he would like to see smaller cities like Patna adopt greater sensitivity to the needs of disabled people, like that exhibited in larger cities such as Delhi and Mumbai
To read more about the café’s incredible transformation, click here.
Denver Brew Pub Taps Into Opportunity by Hiring People with Disabilities
Not sure that hiring people with disabilities will be a good fit? That’s quickly changing in restaurants and pubs across the country. Take Brewability Lab, the first brewery in the U.S. staffed by adults with developmental disabilities. The Denver, Colorado operation will be called Brewability on Broadway, according to a recent announcement. Founder Tiffany Fixter describes the new Denver location as “far more accessible and conducive to business” than its original space. Vinepair recently wrote about the new place. See a video of the staff on-site, here.
Our Take: More restaurants and bars are finding that hiring disabled workers makes good business sense and positions their brand as forward-thinking trailblazers in their communities.