I am a disabled US Navy veteran and on Veterans day - Nov 11th I attended the free meal honoring veterans at Toucan Charlie’s at the Atlantis.
I went there with my elderly parents, and specifically my dad who is disabled with severe arthritis of his hip and knee. He walks with a walker or a cane.
Upon arrival, I was not surprised to see a huge line that was wrapping around half way through the restaurant.
We have attended this restaurant before and previously, to the benefit of my dad, they had a handicapped/ADA dedicated lane to be seated.
This particular day however there was no visible signage showing that. I patiently went up to one of the cashiers and asked if there was a handicapped lane/entrance, to which she instructed me to ask the gentleman wearing a suit at the entrance. As instructed, I walked back to where she pointed and started looking for anyone wearing a suit who maybe looked like they were working.
I looked around for a while and realized who the person was (he was wearing a suit but had no employee name tag, everyone else was wearing a name tag).
I politely told him that I was instructed to see him regarding where the ADA entrance line was. He was polite at first but was very condescending and replied we don't have a dedicated handicapped line.
I pointed out my dad to him. My dad was standing patiently next to some gaming machines so he could sit down at them, because he can't stand for long.
I pointed out my dad with a cane in his hand and explained that he is handicapped and asked again where the handicapped line was per ADA rules.
The man started getting very argumentative and condescendingly saying "hey you can go through here" (when we were in an area marked as the “higher tier like diamond status or something") and sarcastically said that sure you can cut in front of all these people who have been waiting in the long line.
I picked up on his sarcasm and said do you know what ADA is? He replied yes but the restaurant doesn't have to abide by that.
I did argue with him that how is it possible that the restaurant doesn't have to abide by that when all the ramps in the casino and handicap parking outside are because of ADA rules.
At this point another older lady came up to us asking the same question if there is a handicap line for her husband to be in. I told her in front of the man without a name tag that I was dealing with the same issue with this gentleman.
He proceeded to tell us again that there are other handicap people waiting in the regular line to which both the lady and I started arguing with him telling him how wrong that is and doesn't show like they care.
At this point the lady asked for his supervisor and said that we need to talk to them since the conversation was going nowhere. She was getting very upset at this point and siding with me about the issue. Mind you by this point I already asked him for the same and his name.
He finally gave us his name only as "Chira.”
Chira got on his phone and was talking to someone which I presumed was his higher up telling on the phone to come there quickly as there is a problem.
Within a few more minutes of arguing with us another gentleman came and both the lady and I told him of the issue. The gentleman was very nice and said that Chira is right that we don't have any policies to abide by for ADA but not to worry that he will get us seated right away.
Again I politely asked him how it is possible that they don't follow ADA and he said we just don't. I want to emphasize that this gentleman was very nice and polite and caring with us.
I asked for his name and he had a name tag on and he introduced himself as Ashram Bayatti which I also verified from his name tag. Right away Ashram called over another manager and told her that to priority seat us because of handicapped individuals in our parties. This lady was very polite and caring also and I asked her name and verified on her name tag and it was Cynthia Navarro.
Cynthia took over and got myself and my parents seated and then the other lady and her husband. I was happy with Ashram and Cynthia's wonderful customer service to us, showing that they cared. As for the original gentleman with no name tag "Chira", I was very upset and disappointed with how combative and argumentative he got with us.
After our meal when I was walking out, it did seem to me that they did have a different line for the handicapped but I'm not 100% sure if that was the case.
I was and still am upset about this experience even when I type up this story. I just want ADA advocates in our lovely city to look into this and get a statement from Toucan Charlie’s or the Atlantis on the record regarding the rights of handicapped.
(Note: Our Town Reno contacted Toucan Charlie’s, and a manager there said he had no comment when told about this experience.)
I in no means wanted to jump in front of everyone in line, I just wanted to be in the line where the handicap individuals were being assisted, only to find out there was nothing like that when I arrived. My heart breaks for all the poor people in the long line that only if they knew their rights could've asked for the same courtesy. Also for the staff to have education about ADA and the compassion to have monitored the line better and assist the visibly handicapped people.
Thank you again for reading my story.
I did a quick search and found this regarding ADA and restaurants:
ADA restaurant requirements include:
Communication: Ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities.
Parking Accessibility: Design and maintain parking lots for accessibility.
Entrance Ramps: Provide ramps for wheelchair access.
Accessible Doorways: Ensure doorways are accessible.
Dining Room Seating: Accommodate people with disabilities.
Accessible Restrooms: Provide accessible restrooms.
Our Town Reno Citizen’s Forum, November 2024