Panera Bread in Quincy
200 Hancock Street
Quincy MA 0271
Phone: 617-328-5673
http://www.panerabread.com/
After using the
Auto Ambulator at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Amanda, Ric and I had lunch at Panera Bread in Quincy. We all love the fresh salads and sandwiches Panera Bread serves. Yet I found this Panera Bread is only partially wheelchair accessible just like all the other Panera Breads I’ve been to because the pick-up counter is not wheelchair accessible for it is way too high.
Upon arriving we parked in one of 4 handicapped parking spaces right up front near the access slope to the sidewalk that leads to the front entrance. There are two sets of entry doors and neither set of doors is automatic so Amanda held both sets of doors open while Ric pushed my manual wheelchair inside.
Once inside we all placed our lunch order at the cashier counter which is of a perfect wheelchair height. After placing our order we were given a buzzer, as all Panera Breads have which alerts us when our food order is ready to pick up. We then sat at an accessible table which was of a perfect wheelchair accessible height. This Panera Bread has plenty of wheelchair accessible tables as well as some booths that are not wheelchair accessible.
When our food order was ready we approached the pick-up counter; as in all the other Panera Bread’s I found this pick-up counter is way too high for me and all customers seated in wheelchairs; it is approximately 4 feet tall and the employees can’t even see me sitting in my wheelchair. My friends had to get my order for me. I believe this pick-up counter is a violation of Section 7.2.1 and 7.2.2 of the AAB/MA – Massachusetts Architectural Access Board which requires a service counter to be a minimum 36″ wide and a maximum 36″ in height. This regulation can be found at http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/dps/aab_regs/521007.txt.
We all enjoyed our meal. My salad was delicious! The employees here were all very courteous, kind and helpful.
The restrooms are spacious, wheelchair accessible and fully ADA compliant. The faucet, soap and hand towel dispenser are within my reach.
I give Panera Bread of Quincy MA THREE STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other TWO STARS they would need to install automatic entry doors so a person in a wheelchair can enter and exit independently; and lower a section of the pick-up counter to an accessible height so a customer in a wheelchair can pick up their food independently.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Panera Bread has great food but I agree they need to lower the counter where you pick it up…it is way to high for even a shorter person, let alone a person in a wheelchair.