A restaurant in Acton, Massachusetts, is the first to offer “Purple Table Reservations,” a service that lets staff know to be a little more patient for a customer with a disability.
The Red Raven in Acton, Massachusetts, is the first restaurant to offer "Purple Table Reservations," a service to accommodate people with disabilities.
The service is the brainchild of owner Jennifer Apazicis, whose mother, Linda, died from Alzheimer's disease in 2013.
"Someone who maybe has a child with autism, someone who maybe has a hearing impairment or someone who has a service dog -- there's a lot of things that can make the restaurant experience stressful," said Apazicis.
She's experienced some of those stressful times first-hand with her mother.
"If she wasn't able to get the words out, if someone came over to take her order and they were quick with her," said Apazicis, "she would just get overwhelmed and that was that."
Purple Table Reservations allows you or someone else with a disability to enjoy a meal with tailored service.
"Anyone that makes a purple table reservation just needs extra patience, a quieter area and extra love from their server," said Apazicis.
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Judy Johanson said her husband Steve was diagnosed with alzheimer's just before turning 59. She said going out to eat and finding compassionate service was hard to find until Purple Table.
"Any place that we can grab onto a drop of comfort we will run towards," said Johanson. "That's what the purple table will provide us."
Michael Belleville who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than three years ago. He also has a son with a form of autism and said Purple Table is life changing.
"Just the comfort of knowing that you're going to be waited on by a staff that's going to go above and beyond to accommodate your needs. How do you put a price on that," said Belleville.
Apazicis hopes other restaurants start offering Purple Table Reservations. She's developed starter kits and training guides for restaurants interested.
To book a reservation, visit The Red Raven here.
