The Traveling Wheelchair

114 Water Street
Plymouth, MA 02360
Phone: 508-747-4343
http://carmenscafenicole.net/

My aunt, mom, friends and I headed to Plymouth on this beautiful Columbus Day weekend. Plymouth must have been the place where many people headed for the holiday weekend because it was exceptionally crowded. We stopped for a bite to eat at Carmen’s Cafe Nicole which is located right across the street from the Historic Plymouth Harbor. We didn’t find Carmen’s Café very wheelchair accessible.

Parking is free right next door at the Harbor Place parking lot for patrons of Carmen’s Café. A Handicap parking space is located right next to the restaurant. My friends found it very difficult to get my wheelchair onto the walkway in front of the handicap parking space because it has a curb but they finally managed to lift my wheelchair up and over this curb. My Power Chair, which is being replaced probably wouldn’t have gotten onto the curb because it is way too heavy to lift. It’s one time that I’m glad I was in my manual wheelchair.

Access to Carmens’ is very easy for there is a wide wheelchair ramp leading from the sidewalk to the front entry door. Once inside you’ll need to take a sharp left into another  entry door to get into Carmen’s.  Josh found it easier to pull my wheelchair backwards so my wheelchair could make the turn. Inside is very, very crowded for there are booths on the sides and tables crowded in the middle, leaving not much room in between.

A nice family moved from their table to a booth and offered to let us sit at an end table so my wheelchair wouldn’t stick out into the aisle. The tables are a perfect height for my wheelchair. The food was ok and the waitress was very friendly and kind but the service was a little slow probably because it was so crowded.

Carmen’s Cafe opens daily at 7:30 AM, except on Tuesdays and serves breakfast and lunch and stops serving lunch at 2:30 PM. Outdoor dining is also available at Carmen’s Café but it is not wheelchair accessible. There are steps leading to the outdoor area that has tables with umbrellas. It’s a shame because it was such a beautiful day to enjoy lunch outside.

If you need to use a restroom you’ll have to go outside to the rear of the building and enter through the door that leads to the kitchen cooking area. Here is a sloped walkway that has a rubber mat with holes that is very difficult to wheel on.

Once inside a hall you will need to take a sharp turn around a corner and then you will see a restroom door at the end of another hall that is way too narrow for almost any size wheelchair to fit through. I wouldn’t waste your time even going to this restroom located at Carmen’s for it is not wheelchair accessible at all and you will only be disappointed!

It’s days like this I realize that it isn’t always easy to travel in a wheelchair and I have a lot of work to do to try to make the world more sensitive, respectful and accessible to all!

I give Carmen’s Café Nicole ONE STAR for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other FOUR Stars they would need to; install an automatic entry door, place a slope at the curb of the sidewalk entry from the handicap parking space, space out the inside tables more, widen the door to the restroom and place a wheelchair accessible ramp leading to the outdoor dining area.