★★★☆☆
138 Colony Place
Plymouth, MA 02360
Phone: 508-830-3844
http://www.panerabread.com/

panera-bread-old-colony-place-002.jpgMy friends and I went to Panera Bread, located at Colony Place in Plymouth and found it to be partially wheelchair accessible. There are two sets of entry doors you will need help with opening for neither set of doors are automatic.

panera-bread-in-plymouth9a1.jpgThe counter where you order your meal is a perfect height for my wheelchair but the counter where you pick up your meal is way too high for my wheelchair. It is approximately 4 ½ feet tall. I have had this same problem at all Panera Bread cafés that I’ve visited.

panera-bread-in-plymouth501.jpgTables and booths are located in this Panera Bread café and the tables are a perfect height for my wheelchair. I found plenty of room to wheel my chair around the tables for they are not crowded close together. Outdoor dining is available on warm days and the outdoor tables are also a perfect height for my wheelchair. Employees were helpful and kind.

Restrooms are spacious with a large handicap stall with the ADA required safety grab bars. My wheelchair fit perfectly at the accessible sink and the pipes underneath the sink are covered as is now ADA required.

I give Panera Bread at Colony Place THREE STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Two Stars, they would need to install automatic entry doors and lower the height of the counter where you pick up your food to 36” or less so it is wheelchair accessible.

I just recently learned from Scott Ricker, Access Specialist that “AAB regulations 7.2.1 & 7.2.2 of the January 2006 edition of 521 CMR require a service counter to be a minimum 36” wide and a maximum 36” in height. This regulation isn’t new to the AAB 2006 edition and applies to facilities that did renovations/changes in the past”. THANK YOU SCOTT!