I am starting a new series called “minisodes” which will showcase some fun, interesting, exciting facts and tidbits about assistive technology, accessibility, and accommodations in the form of short youtube videos. Feedback will be greatly appreciated!
Did you know that a new restaurant has opened in Toronto Canada where you order using the American Sign Language? And why is it that, you may ask?
It’s because almost all of the waiters at this restaurant are deaf.
The inspiration behind this restaurant is the owner’s struggle to communicate with a deaf customer at his previous job.
The restaurant gives you a crash course in sign language right from the get go – As soon as you enter, you see a wall that has big pictures that show handshapes to help you fingerspell. There’s also a cheat sheet on the table that serves the same purpose. Of course, the restaurant is encouraging you to use sign language as much as possible, primarily to make things easy for the wait staff and also to adopt sign language as another language for day to day conversation, but if you are not comfortable with it, you can still point to items on the menu and order.
This unique restaurant is a great example of how someone’s disability does not and will not stop them from performing a regular job – all they need is an employer who is willing to provide them the right accommodations and also create an environment where their disability is overshadowed by their skill set and zeal to be outstanding at their job.
Do check out this restaurant though – signrestaurant.ca. It is a fairly new restaurant but already has amazing ratings on Yelp, Urban Spoon and the likes.
Click the subscribe button to watch forthcoming minisodes on Youtube.