We were able to get some rest over the weekend and went shopping for equipment to go in the bar area at Mozzeria. We are going to make some significant progress this week.

You saw photo of the entrance ramp in our last blog posting. We poured concrete and leveled it to meet the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirement. We had to wait until the concrete was completely dry before asking Michael E. Sharnov and Samuel Reynolds to return to Mozzeria.


Michael and Samuel continued to complete installation of wood flooring on the ramp. Michael said it wasn’t easy to install wood strips on the ramp. It was a good thing Douglas Fir is a softwood as it allowed them to bend each wood strip slightly and apply glue to make sure it adheres to concrete. After a couple of hours later, ta-da! What beautiful-looking wood.


We have our fingers crossed as the building inspector is coming in for the final inspection. We hope the ramp will meet his satisfaction. Please cross your fingers for us too!

Nathan Dingel and Russ Stein have started to build supports for the bar countertop. We just ordered marble slabs and expect them to arrive shortly. I cannot wait to see how the marble slabs look on the counter and against the pizza oven!


Ron Trumble brought over custom-made wood doors from his workplace. The doors are really beautiful. We are proud of Ron's workmanship. Russ had the door frames painted in black to match the exterior facade look.


Ron also brought tabletops that he made for Mozzeria. We love how it looks and we know the red chairs we ordered a while ago will look great with it.


We will share the latest on the chimney situation on Thursday. Tell your friends to sign up and follow our progress at Mozzeria. :)

 

 

 

We know how complicated it is to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements in restaurants. Several people had told us at different times that a certain person in wheelchair actually became a millionaire by suing several restaurants for not being in compliance with ADA regulations. It is an unfortunate situation when someone in a wheelchair is unable to dine at a restaurant.

There are small restaurants who barely get by with their daily sales and cannot afford the costs to renovate and make it accessible to people with limited mobility. In these situations, they often choose to give up their dream and close down the restaurant. Some banks do offer loans targeted at small restaurants to help them make renovations to meet ADA requirements, and help them stay in business The way I see it, providing accessibility is a win-win situation for both people with limited mobility and business owners.

Being deaf business owners, we also fall under this category. The ADA regulations are primarily targeted at people with limited mobility. We understand their needs, and we are working hard to meet requirements in all areas in a satisfactory manner. We asked the building inspector to arrange an initial walk-through at Mozzeria as we were worried about the entrance ramp and restroom. The inspector identified several areas in the restroom and entrance that we need to correct.

Restroom:


The soap dispenser is located in the wrong place. The top of soap dispenser needs to be 40 inches high from the floor. Its current location is higher and difficult for people in wheelchairs to reach.


We got a 27" x 27" mirror for the restroom. The bottom edge of mirror needs to be at 40 inches height. If we lower the mirror to 40 inches, that mirror would not allow able-bodied people to see themselves in the mirror. We would need to change the mirror with a larger one.


We need to replace the existing door hinges with 5 lb spring hinges to slow down speed of the door closing.

Entrance ramp:


According to regulations, you must have 5 feet of "flat" surface and allow up to quarter inch for every twelve inch segment leading to it and then, at the end of the "flat" surface, make an inch upwards for every twelve inch space to create the ramp.


Hand rails are required to be placed on both sides of the wall surrounding the ramp.


We look forward to making our restaurant accessible to everyone.

 

 

 

Some restaurants in San Francisco have been slapped with ADA lawsuits. Many restaurant owners were neglecting to make their restaurants accessible to their customers in wheelchairs as required by federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations.

The City of San Francisco enforces regulations that require restaurants to meet these ADA requirements. If there is a step you need to take before entering the restaurant, you are required to install or build a ramp. I thought it is great that San Francisco wants to make everywhere accessible to everyone.

When I was taking a tour of a restaurant in a prime location, I observed tiny space on the main floor which could seat perhaps 6 people with a staircase leading to the main dining room that seat 30 people comfortably. It did not have provision or access for wheelchair users. If you want to use the restroom, you need to take the step. What about the restaurant’s customers in wheelchairs? The kitchen is split into 2 rooms with the cooking room located upstairs, and the prep room downstairs.

My immediate response was that it wouldn't do us any good because if it was me, I couldn't tolerate carrying food upstairs and downstairs. It immediately raised a red flag. I began to see issues related to Worker's Compensation. I asked the seller about these conditions, and he responded that he had no complaints since he ran his restaurant with a "grandfather" clause which presents a loophole.

I recalled from my conversation with Darren Weiss, the deaf restaurateur in Manhattan Beach, in sharing his previous experience with a restaurant he owned before opening Darren's which was a two- floor building that was inconvenient for his staff. He didn't want to repeat that experience at his next restaurant. I took his advice to heart.

It would be ironical if I went ahead and purchased that multi-level restaurant when I am an ADA advocate! I told the seller I wouldn't consider his restaurant because it is not ADA friendly. I wanted all customers to have the equal access to Mozzeria.