subject: Restaurant Accommodations For Everyone [print this page] I began to use a wheelchair in 1997I began to use a wheelchair in 1997. It was a problem, but I
adjusted well and functioned without much of a problem.
Then, in 2003 I became paralyzed from the neck down.
Enough about that.
I love to eat. Given my set of circumstances, it's almost
the only thing that I can do. I love going to restaurants and
eating great food. BUT, restaurant owners seem to not want
me to spend my money at their establishments.
What do I mean by that?
The first goal for a restaurant is to make its patrons comfortable.
Go to a restaurant and stare at the tables and then think
about what a wheelchair user has to go through. I have found
that tables are either terribly low to the ground or have legs that
are either overly ornate with their wide sweeping twists and curls
or they are too close together. Some tables actually have their
legs emanating from the center of the table below the tabletop
out towards each corner. Good grief.
Given all of that, I cannot get up to these tables for a comfortable
dinner. So, I no longer visit most of the restaurants in the New Haven
area. Why should I spend my money when no proper accommodations
for handicapped people are made. I am definitely not militant about things.
How would I solve my dilemma?
To begin with, if I were a restaurant owner I would want everyone to spend
their money with me so, I would make some accommodations, but think like
a handicapped person by making them. First, I would use tables that are a
little bit higher than that of others or have adjustable heights. I have been at
tables where you simply push on an arm to adjust the height. Second, I would
use tables that have legs at the four corners or a single stem with a flat base
to make it easy to roll up to the table. See It's not always the table top that is
the issue. Sometimes it is the apron around the table top that makes the
effective height of the table seem much lower.
I am not asking for restaurants to redesign themselves for me. Just have
a table or two that work for me or any other wheelchair user. My wheelchair
in particular is similar to a Volkswagen. Big and kind of clunky.
Another problem that I have is with bars. Between the bar not extending
out far enough and my feet smashing into it or the foot rest of the bar
extending out too far, I cannot sit at most bars with my wheelchair. My
chair does have adjustable vertical height so, that is not an issue I have
with bars. I would like to give kudos to the bar at the Summer Shack in
the Mohegan Sun Casino. The corner location of the bar is circular and
is pretty high with no foot level encumbrance. The remainder of the bar
has the same problems that I have had at other bars, but I have been
accommodated probably indirectly, but accommodated.
My Summer Shack example above is the reason why that is the only
place I eat at while at Mohegan Sun. We have tried to sit down for dinner
at many of the restaurants there, but none come close. Summer Shack is
ther ONLY restaurant that I go to. Luckily, their food is unbelievable.
We just sit at the bar and have a great meal.
Times are tough for everyone, restaurants also. They should be doing
everything to get business. Proper accommodations should be one of those things.
**You might be asking, how does a paralyzed person type?
I typed this entire message with my voice using the program
Last monthDragon Naturally Speaking. Google it and you will see.
