The Traveling Wheelchair

Ruby Tuesday in North Dartmouth
83-85 North Dartmouth Mall
North Dartmouth, MA 02747
Phone: 508-979-8973
http://www.rubytuesday.com/

After my workout at Healthrax Fitness & Wellness Center , my mom treated Kellie, Kevin and I to lunch at Ruby Tuesday in North Dartmouth. We previously published a 1 Star accessibility review of this Ruby Tuesday in April of 2009. We decided to come back to see if there were any wheelchair accessibility improvements because we had spoken to the manager about our accessibility concerns in April. We were very disappointed to find there were no accessibility improvements made. You can read our April 3, 2009 review by clicking on Ruby Tuesday in North Dartmouth.

Upon arriving we found plenty of handicap parking spaces located near the entrance of Ruby Tuesday in the parking lot of Dartmouth Mall. Wheelchair access to the front sidewalk is clearly marked. This Ruby Tuesday has two double entry doors and neither set of doors is automatic so Kellie held both sets of doors open while Kevin pushed my manual chair inside. There is no entrance to Ruby Tuesday inside the mall.

Once inside we were greeted by a host; we asked for a wheelchair accessible table. He appeared to be very confused while he looked around to see where we could be seated. A waitress then approached us and suggested we sit at one of the tables located by the front or side window.

This Ruby Tuesday has mostly booths which are not at all wheelchair accessible; my chair cannot fit underneath the booth table due to the pole underneath blocking access; even if my chair could fit I would stick out in the aisle blocking access to all other customers and servers.

There are two areas which have tables of an accessible height located by the front and side window; yet wheelchair access to all these tables is extremely difficult because these tables are all placed way too close together.

After a lot of commotion and moving of chairs, we all squeezed into a corner table located by the side window. The tables are set so close together; the back of my wheelchair touched the table next to us.

Our waitress was very kind, courteous and helpful. We all ordered the salad bar in which we discovered another access issue; the food items on the salad bar are not within my reach for it is too high; I couldn’t even see some of the choices; my mom kindly placed the salad items I like on a plate for me. Our salads were fresh and delicious!

While at the Salad Bar, we noticed a rear dining area which has two steps leading to it; this dining area only has booths which are not wheelchair accessible. This dining area also has the ONLY Emergency Exit door in the restaurant; this Emergency Exit is not wheelchair accessible due to the 2 steps.

We believe this is a dangerous problem; if a fire occurred near the front entrance of the restaurant, a customer in a wheelchair would be trapped for there is no access to the rear Emergency Exit door!

We checked out the bar/lounge area and found there is still NO wheelchair accessible seating in this area; I was in my manual chair and found the bar is too high for me to reach; all the tables are booths which are not wheelchair accessible. Two large screen TV’s are located on the wall which can really only be viewed if you’re seated in this area. If you’re a customer in a wheelchair you cannot enjoy a drink or meal while watching your local sports team on TV.

The restrooms is spacious but has a few accessibility problems; the handicap stall is a little too small and I couldn’t turn my chair to access the side of the toilet which I need to do to transfer; a person in a wheelchair would need to wheel their chair in backwards; the accessible sink is of a good height; yet the pipes underneath are not covered which is ADA required; and the soap dispenser is not within my reach; it is set too far back and is too high for a customer in a wheelchair to push the top which dispenses the soap.

I believe this Ruby Tuesday may be in violation of multiple regulations set by the AAB/MA – Massachusetts Architectural Access Board; specifically 17.4 Counters and Bars with Service; 17.2.2 Access aisles; 17.2.3 Clear floor space; and 29.2 Level Changes. You can read all the AAB Rules and Regulations by clicking on AAB Rules and Regulations.

Once again I give Ruby Tuesday in North Dartmouth ONE STAR for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Four Stars this Ruby Tuesday would need to: install automatic entry doors so a customer in a wheelchair can enter and exit independently; place more space between the accessible tables; place some accessible seating in the lounge/bar by either lowering a section of the countertop of the bar or remove a booth and replace it with an accessible table; lower the salad bar to an accessible height where a customer can reach all the food choices; replace the steps leading to the Emergency Door with an accessible ramp or sloped floor so a customer in a wheelchair can exit in case of an emergency; enlarge the restroom’s handicap stall; cover the pipes under the accessible restroom sink; and lower the soap dispenser on the restroom wall to an accessible height.