The Traveling Wheelchair

407 West Grove Street
Middleborough, MA 02346
Phone: 508-947-9297

After working out at Healthtrax Fitness Center, my mom treated Ric, Amanda and I to lunch at Harry’s Bar & Grille. Thankfully it was a warm fall day; we chose to sit at an accessible table located on the outdoor patio because accessing the tables inside the dining room is extremely difficult because they are set too close together without enough room for my chair. Overall Harry’s Bar & Grille is not very wheelchair accessible and there is NO accessible seating in the lounge.

When pulling into the parking lot I noticed there are 2 handicap parking spaces with the wheelchair accessible symbol only painted on the pavement; I didn’t see a wheelchair accessible symbol in front of these parking spaces which is required by the ADA. Accessible parking signs posted on poles or a building in front of the accessible parking space makes it easier for people to see where the accessible parking spaces are located.

Upon entering the restaurant there are two entry doors and neither is automatic; a very kind customer held open the door for me while Ric pushed my manual chair inside. Once inside I found the dining area tables are of a good accessible height but the tables are set close together making access tough. There is No accessible seating in the lounge; all tables in the lounge are bar style tables and too high; the bar is too high to reach too.

As we were waiting to be seated we noticed that there is an outdoor patio and since it was a warm autumn day we chose to eat at a table on this patio. There are two ways to get to this patio; one way is from inside the restaurant but there is a small step so it is not accessible; the other way is from an outdoor accessible brick accessible ramp.

Therefore my mom, friends and I had to go back outside and walk around to the side of the building and up the brick accessible ramp to access the patio. The patio tables are all of an accessible height with an umbrella to shade you from the sun.  

The restrooms are wheelchair accessible, spacious and fully ADA compliant except the pipes under the accessible sink are not covered as is ADA required. I found it inconvenient to access the restrooms from the patio; first I had to leave the patio, then go back to front entrance and then go back to the rear of the restaurant to access the restrooms. If the side door from the patio to the restaurant was accessible it would be much easier to gain access to the restrooms. 

Our waitress was very kind , sensitive, courteous and friendly. She looked directly at me when taking my order. The food was very good. The service was good too.

As we were getting ready to leave we noticed there was a particular theme of airplanes throughout this restaurant. The patio area where we ate was called ‘Flight Deck’. We asked our waitress why there were signs of airplanes everywhere. She told us it was because the owner’s father was a pilot.

I give Harry’s Bar & Grille TWO STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Three Stars they would need to install an automatic entry door so a person in a wheelchair can enter independently; place some accessible seating in the lounge; place more room between the tables in the dining room so a person in a wheelchair can access the tables; place an accessible threshold ramp at the side door leading from the dining room to the outdoor patio; and place protective covering around the pipes in the restrooms.