[NABS-L] Advocating To Restaurants About Accessibility

Sat Mar 26 01:14:19 UTC 2022

Hi all!
I agree with walking into a restaurant and talking to the waiter about the
food that's served there. Whenever I go into a restaurant with other blind
people, if there is a braille menu avalible, we'll use it, but only whenever
they're avalible. Since they are not usually there, we'll usually ask the
waiter about the food offered which includes the drinks and desserts. There
are apps that can aid in knowing the food that's on the menu and sometimes,
we'll use those apps such as AIRA, BlindSquare, Happy Menu or even websites
if they're accessible. Since there is no standard to my knowledge regarding
the rules of making things accessible other than that they should be
accessible, there is no standard on how to make menus accessible since the
American's with Disabilities Act was written before the internet took off,
but was also not properly updated, the avalible matereals out there are
patchy at best. When I happen to be with sighted people in a restaurant such
as with my family, I'll take the opportunity to let them read me the menu,
especially in cases where I don't know what I want going into the
restaurant. If I know what I want because I had already been at a particular
restaurant, or if I have an idea of what I want based on the theme of the
restaurant, I'll go ahead and work my orders based on that instead. For
example, if I know that I'm going to eat Mexican food, I'll usually start
with a bean and cheese burrito and work my order from that base and go out
from there. In cases where I know what I want or have an idea of what I
want, I usually don't require a menu of any form because I have enough of a
sense of what I want to get started. Even if I don't know what spasific food
that is being offered, I like to at least know the theme of the restaurant
because that theme gives you a lot of information about what foods are
likely going to be on the menu. I hope this helps!
Kendra

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Sami Osborne via
NABS-L
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2022 3:24 PM
To: Asia Quinones-Evans via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org.
Cc: Sami Osborne <sami.j.osborne97 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Advocating To Restaurants About Accessibility

Hi Armando and all,

This is indeed a very interesting topic.

Personally, I don't see the harm in asking the waiter/waitress to read you
the menu once you enter the restaurant. That's part of their job; they're in
charge of not only taking customer's orders, but also answering any and all
questions they might have about the different food/drinks. You have to
interact with the waiter or waitress when he or she situates you at a table
as well as when you place your order, when your food is served, and when
you're paying the bill (as well as if you order a dessert if applicable). If
you walk in by yourself with your cane or guide dog, they'd most likely be
more than willing to help you out. Additionally, if you're at the restaurant
with a friend or family member, he/she can just read you the menu if they're
sighted. I've visited several restaurants over the course of my life, both
on my own as well as with friends and family. Most (if not all) of the wait
staff have been exceptionally friendly, regardless of whether or not I've
asked them to help me out personally.

I know I'm probably going way over the top with answering a relatively
simple question, but I just wanted to point out that there are multiple ways
of knowing what's on the restaurant menu. I know inaccessible websites are
frustrating in general for all of us, but you don't have to necessarily know
the different food options in advance. Yes, it can be helpful, particularly
if you're traveling in a large group setting. However, I personally don't
view accessibility (or lack thereof) of restaurant websites as a huge
stumbling blocks given the multiple methods you can go by. In my 24 plus
years of life, I've only ever visited one (1) restaurant that had a Braille
menu, and that was Legal Seafood in Lexington, Mass., where my paternal
grandparents used to live before they passed away. As others have stated
before me, privately-owned/family-owned restaurants don't normally consider
accessibility as a top priority, and in fact I learned in college (when I
did a report on the ADA for one of my classes) that these types of venues
are not covered under the ADA; only public entities are.

Once again, my apologies for rambling, but I do hope what I'm saying makes
some sense here.

Thanks, and I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Sami

On Mar 25, 2022 5:48 PM, Asia Quinones-Evans via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
>
> I could be wrong on this but I believe most family owned restaurants are
> private. So their rules about accessibility are some what different. I
> would also check to see if the restaurant is on Uber Eats just to check
> out the menu. I also have an app called All Access that I find a great
> deal of restaurants with their menus on it. I hope this helps.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Armando Vias via
> NABS-L
> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2022 8:30 PM
> To: Nicolas Spohn <nspohn0 at gmail.com>
> Cc: Armando Vias <armando at armandovias.com>; nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [NABS-L] Advocating To Restaurants About Accessibility
>
> It is a family-owned restaurant I believe. They have an online ordering
> system, in which it is accessible.
>
> > On Mar 24, 2022, at 5:56 PM, Nicolas Spohn <nspohn0 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > This is an interesting topic. If the restaurant is a larger chain then
> > Accessibility is more or less expected. If it say family owned or a
> > local person owns the place, accessibility of a website may be more of a
> > challenge due to cost, lack of knowledge, or potentially  other things.
> > I have never confronted a restaurant but I’m interested to hear what
> > others have to say
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> >> On Mar 24, 2022, at 4:55 PM, Armando Vias via NABS-L
> >> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >> Hello all,
> >> Have you guys had to advocate to a restaurant about accessibility? One
> >> of my local restaurants has a website, but their accessibility is
> >> horrible. What strategies did you use to advocate to your restaurant?
> >> Thanks.
> >> _______________________________________________
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