Toronto Restaurant for the Deaf and the Hearing

There's the new restaurant in Toronto that opened recently. SIGNS is a restaurant where all the wait staff and most of the kitchen staff are hearing-impaired. In this unique restaurant, the customers are asked to use American sign language to order their meal.

Not only does it give deaf people new career opportunities, but it gives hearing people a unique real-world experience with disability.

I've never been one who liked labels on my restaurants or parking spaces, but this is a unique situation because the workers are setting the stage rather than the customers.

I hope it becomes a massive success. Imagine if there were a restaurant or two in every city focused on the deaf experience.

Could this be taken a step forward with other businesses designed around the disabled worker? Granted, not every business would be conducive. A restaurant full of wheelchairs would get pretty crowded pretty quickly. I'm not sure I'd want a photo studio run by blind people.

But, imagine, retail stores, bowling alleys, or even web designing marketing consultants!

By catering to this unique worker demographic, you'd likely have much lower turnover. In the restaurant business, your serving staff and kitchen staff are one of your biggest expenses and there is rapid turnover that directly impacts profitability.

As long as the customers keep coming, it could be one of the most efficient and profitable restaurants in town.

SIGNS on Facebook