The Traveling Wheelchair

2097 Bay Street
Taunton, MA 02780
Phone: 508-880-6652
http://www.rubytuesday.com/

Wednesday my mom took my friends and I to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays on Bay Street in Taunton; Ruby Tuesdays was once located at the Silver City Galleria Mall and moved to this new building a few years ago. My dad and I used to have lunch every Saturday at the Ruby Tuesday at the mall; I love Ruby Tuesday menu and Salad Bar yet I was disappointed to find this Ruby Tuesday has no wheelchair accessible seating in the bar/lounge.

There are 2 handicap parking spaces located right in front of the access slope to the sidewalk; the double entry doors are not automatic, yet a kind hostess opened the door for us as soon as we approached; she told us she opens the entry doors for all customers!

Once inside, I found the lobby is spacious with plenty of room to maneuver my chair; two dining rooms are located on either side of the entrance; both dining rooms have booths which are not wheelchair accessible; yet there are plenty of wheelchair accessible tables which are all of a perfect height; a lamp hanging above each table provides sufficient lighting for persons with a visual disability can easily view the menu.

Once seated at our table we were kindly greeted by our waitress; she was very friendly, sensitive and kind; she took our order and looked me directly in the eye and listened carefully to understand me. We all ordered the salad bar.

While at the salad bar, we were warmly greeted by Steve, the manager; he kindly offered to help me place my choices of the salad bar on my plate; which allowed my friends to chose their choices for their salads. The salad bar has a great selection of all the makings for a great salad, including many vegetables, meats, cheeses etc.

The restrooms are spacious, wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant; the pipes under the accessible sink are covered; the faucet and hand towels are within my reach; yet the soap dispenser is too high for me too reach; you need to press the top of it to dispense soap and this is way too high for me to reach.

A bar/lounge is located behind the lobby in the rear center of the restaurant; before leaving we went to see how wheelchair accessible the bar and lounge is; I was really disappointed to find there is NO wheelchair accessible seating at the bar or in the lounge. There are many booths which are not at all accessible for there is a step located in front of each booth; the only three tables located in the lounge are not accessible for they are tall bar style tables that are too high; the bar countertop is not accessible for it is too high; there are large screen TVs which are easy to view; yet no accessible seat to view them from.

Steve told my friends and me if I ever wanted to come and sit in the lounge; I could call ahead and they would place an accessible table in the lounge; We recommended to Steve that an accessible table should always be placed here for their wheelchair customers who wish to have a meal, drink and watch a sports game on the large TV.

There is NO accessible seating in a bar/lounge which I believe is a violation of the Section 17.4 regulation of  AAB/MA – Massachusetts Architectural Access Board which you can find at http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/dps/aab_regs/521017.txt.

• 17.4 COUNTERS AND BARS WITH SERVICE
  At counters exceeding 34 inches (34″ = 864mm) in height, where food or drink is served for consumption by customers seated on stools or standing at the counter, a portion of the main counter shall be accessible or service shall be available at accessible tables within the same area.  The accessible portion shall be a minimum of 60 inches (60″ = 1524mm) in length and comply with 521 CMR 17.2.4 and 17.2.5.

I give Ruby Tuesdays in Taunton THREE STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the other Two Stars, they would need to place the soap dispenser within reach of a customer in a wheelchair; and provide some accessible seating in the bar/lounge either by lowering a section of the bar to an accessible height or permanently placing an accessible table in the lounge. Steve, the manager, the kind hostess and my waitress deserve FIVE STARS for their kindness, sensitivity and helpfulness!