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Basil's Italian restaurant will have braille and large print menus. Date published: 6/21/2003
Michael Kasey is on a mission. The president of the Fredericksburg chapter of the National Federation of the Blind wants area restaurants to better accommodate their blind and low-vision customers. To get the ball rolling, he and other members are visiting restaurants and asking owners if they will consider printing some of their menus in Braille or large print. "We encourage members to get out to the community," said Kasey, who is legally blind. "This motivates them." About 7,000 people in the Fredericksburg area are legally blind or have difficulty seeing even with glasses. Kasey hopes to make things like eating out easier for them. Chris Harris, owner of Basil Italian Market and Pizzeria on Caroline Street, wants to help, too. "When you open a restaurant you try to think of everything for your customers," said Harris, who is making Braille menus available at his downtown Fredericksburg eatery. "This just makes sense to me." According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, businesses need to have reasonable accommodations for the disabled--which may include having servers read the menu to customers who are blind or have limited vision. Restaurants are not required to have Braille or large-print menus, but several--including Olive Garden and Applebee's--make them available. The National Restaurant Association based in Washington supports any accommodations, but doesn't keep track of how many restaurants offer Braille menus or other aids for the visually impaired, said spokeswoman Annika Stensson. Kasey said he thinks most local restaurant owners just never thought to have the menus, and no one has bothered to ask--until now. With help from the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, chapter members are able to have documents, including menus, printed in Braille. Nancy Buck, the library's outreach services coordinator, said the process takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Using the MegaDots software program, she is able to translate printed words to Braille. The document is then printed on the Braille Blazer Printer, which was donated to the library in 1997 by the Fredericksburg Host Lion's Club. The Rappahannock Goodwill Industries and the disAbility Resource Center are among the few organizations in the area that have taken advantage of the free service, Buck said. Kesey hopes also to get FRED--the city bus system--to make schedules available in Braille and large print. Marilee Kenlon of Spotsylvania, a member of the local federation of the blind, said she is excited about the new menus. "I would usually rely on my husband or children" to read them, said Kenlon, who is blind. "If I'm by myself, the waiter would read it and some of them don't have time." She worked with Buck on Basil's menus and has her church bulletin at Spotsylvania Presbyterian Church also printed in Braille. The local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind meets at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday at the disAbility Resource Center on Princess Anne Street. With 50,000 members, the national organization--based in Baltimore--is one of the nation's largest for the blind.
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