Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

All too often businesses and establishments make the news for not being accessible to or accommodating of people with disabilities. Today, I’d like to turn that around by giving a big shout out to the Charthouse Restaurant in Steveston!

On Saturday, Darrell and I attended a small event at the Charthouse. We were the first to arrive, which caused some panic in the staff. They had not been informed that two people in wheelchairs were attending; the space set up for the event was up one step, making it inaccessible to Darrell and I.

While we used the restrooms, which were quite accessible, the staff quickly reorganized tables on the lower level for the event and returned the upper level to its regular layout for other customers. The staff had left plenty of space on the lower level for Darrell and I to maneuver our power chairs.

Fellow guests began arriving and settling into places around the two tables now set up for us. However, when the event host arrived, he was not content with us all sitting at two tables. He wanted us all at one table, as was the arrangement on the upper level.

Once again the staff quickly reorganized and re-set tables on the upper level. I was helped to a chair on the upper level; two fellow guests lifted Darrell in his power chair was lifted up the one step. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch, all sitting around one long table.

I would like to thank the Charthouse staff for being extremely accommodating and patient! Oftentimes a flexible and willing attitude makes up for any shortcomings in physical accessibility.

Thank you, Charthouse.

Accessibility 100 is a series of 100 easy-to-implement, free and inexpensive tips for improving accessibility for people with disabilities. This is a community project. Feel free to leave your comments, questions and ideas for future Accessibility 100 posts.

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