Can you walk around your venue without bumping into tables and chairs? How much pain will you be in if you try to enter your restaurant after a serious leg day at the gym?

• Making it easy to move through your space helps everyone get around
• Keep your traffic areas clean and tidy so there are no mobility hazards

13.7% of the population has a mobility impairment. This may mean that they use a wheelchair to get around, or that they have difficulty getting up stairs or holding doors open.

Businesses that are up a flight of stairs or are really tight and cramped are inaccessible for a very large part of the population. Making changes to make your business physically accessible opens it up to a large number of paying customers.

69% of disabled people said a venue’s layout, such as narrow corridors, restricted access for them.

61% told Euan’s Guide that they have been unable to get into a venue due to a lack of ramp, or heavy doors for example.

53% said that poor accessible toilet provision created difficulties.

Euan’s Guide Access Survey

A mobility friendly business is one that welcomes:

• people who use wheelchairs
• people who have other kind of mobility impairments
• elderly customers
• families with prams
• people who are prone to tripping over hazards
• people who are visually impaired who cannot see hazards in their way

To ensure that people with low mobility can move around safely in your space, follow these tips.

• Ensure that the floor has a non-slip surface, even when wet.
• Corridors should be free from any items that could be a tripping hazard or may restrict access from someone using a mobility aid.
• Hand rails can help anyone that is unsteady on their feet, including the elderly, to make sure they feel safe and comfortable moving through your space.
• If you have tables and chairs, make sure there is enough room so that someone can move between them easily. If there is limited space, you can leave the tables closest to the entrance empty until someone that may require them comes along.

Disabled toilets are an important accessibility consideration. This can make the difference between a person choosing one restaurant over another. Things to keep in mind include:

• Ensuring that a disabled toilet is accessible (e.g. free from clutter, push button/lightweight door, enough space for a chair to turn around in). Learn more about what makes a toilet accessible at the Toilet Access Files.
• A clearly marked path to the disabled toilet
• If there is no disabled toilet, consider having the toilets equipped with a handrail so that it becomes an ambulatory toilet that is beneficial to many people with a disability, older persons and women who are pregnant.
• Avoid using the additional space in the toilet to store items. This space is needed for people with wheelchairs and other mobility devices to turn around.
• If you have the space and the resources, look into installing a Changing Places toilet that allow people who require extra equipment and space to use the toilet safely and comfortably.

Being able to enter a restaurant is important to patrons. Access considerations for people with a mobility related disability include:

• Ramp access or alternative access (such as entry via back or where goods are delivered) if stairs are not available. Alternative access is not the preferred option but can be a back up plan.
• Enough space for a cart or a wheelchair to move through the restaurant. If this is not possible, a back up, imperfect option is to provide accessible seating outdoors.
• Make sure that the door is wide enough for all patrons to move through.
• Make sure that the door is easy to open. Doors that are too heavy to push can prevent some patrons from opening them or cause shoulder or back injuries for other patrons. Heavy doors can be fixed by installing an automatic door or by propping the door open with a doorstop. A short term, imperfect option is to install a system (like the BigBell Alert System) to call a staff member to help open the door. This system should only be used if you are certain that there will always be a staff member available to open the door since people with disabilities have reported waiting outside the door for more than 20 minutes waiting for someone to respond to the alert bell.
• Are there drop curbs to the front door of your establishment? Can you replace this with a permanent or removable ramp?

Being able to sit down comfortably is important for creating a good experience for patrons. Things to consider include:

• Booth seating and other kinds of fixed seating can make it difficult for patrons to get into their seats.
• Be aware of the table heights offered in your venue. Bar seating can be too tall for many patrons to use comfortably, or at all.
• Provide multiple kinds of seating options, instead of only just booth seating or only bar seating. This way you can provide customers with their preferred choice of seating, and also provide visual interest.
• If you have outdoor seating, make sure there is accessible seating inside and outside to provide options for customers.

“Calling a restaurant to figure out whether they’re actually wheelchair accessible is far more complicated than confirming a reservation.”

Ace Ratcliff, Eater Voices

• Ensure that you understand the physical layout of the restaurant and are able to answer questions about physical accessibility.
• Do not touch people or their mobility devices (such as wheelchairs) without their permission.
• Be proactive in opening doors and moving chairs around to create more space when necessary.

• Make your physical accessibility features clear on your online presence. If you have a disabled toilet and an accessible entry way, say so on your website. Even better, you can add photos of your entrance way, the dining spaces and the toilet options. This will save you time on answering questions over the phone and it will also boost your search engine results.
• Double check your venue information on Yelp and Google to make sure it is correct.

• Calavera Oakland is a Mexican restaurant that has a lowered bar area that can be used comfortably by people in wheelchairs.

• Easy Access Chicago provides a list of restaurants that have been surveyed by access specialists to determine if they are wheelchair friendly.
• iACCESSlife is an app that collates reviews of venues written by people with mobility impairments.
• Full Service Restaurant News (FSR) provides tips on how restaurants can meet ADA requirements, including exact measurements for table heights and aisle widths.
• The Great Lakes ADA Center hosted a presentation on how restaurants can meet ADA accessibility requirements. The presentation notes are available through the webpage linked.
• Learn more about what makes a toilet accessible at the Toilet Access Files.