Posted on 02/13/2018 2:26:53 PM PST by Leaning Right
This lady I know opened up a sandwich shop recently. She sunk her life savings into it. The location she picked wasn't bad. It was in a strip mall that had a pizza parlor, but no other food establishment.
Here's the problem. Shortly after she opened, an inspector came in and told her she must remove all her customer tables! It seems there's some law that says new restaurants without a handicapped accessible restroom cannot have tables. So she removed her tables, and her business has dropped off dramatically.
She better also have handicap parking places in front, a ramp from the parking lot over the curb and handicap access over the threshold. Research, research, research.
Then put in stand up tables such as at the bars in airports etc
Around here, that would have been dealt with during permitting. Does your friend own the property? My experience is property managers are happy to handle this kind of stuff.
If it is in a strip mall, then the landlord would be required to put in the handicapped accessible restrooms. If the landlord doesn’t fix it, then your friend should be able to get out of any lease and she may be able to sue for damages if the landlord knew she was going to open a restaurant with tables.
These are the stupid regulations that destroy small businesses. They are designed to destroy small businesses.
From my own personal experiences, the best legal advice to get is from a local lawyer that knows the local laws.
And from personal experience, I’ve learned the absolute worst thing to do is to surf or ask a forum for advice. It’s great to get moral support, but no one will know the facts like a lawyer from your town.
You cannot pick the best advice offered here, tell your friend, and expect her to run with it, as it could cost her more.
I recently took advice from a forum pertaining to trucking issues. The forum “experts” were completely wrong, had me a nervous wreck until I found out from the DMV the actual rules.
She doesnt own the entire bldg not her prob
“But who wants to eat in a restaurant without any tables? “
I think the key point is that it is not a restaurant if their are no tables.
Most places that have tables, must have restrooms for customers
I have an idea. Put a sign up saying all orders are to go only. Put the tables back in without the condiments, napkins and other paraphernalia. When the inspector comes back in explain the sign to him and that the tables are for customers waiting for their orders.
> Why is it breaking your heart when it’s her business ... <
My apologies for having some sympathy for a person who is not trying to scam social security, or sponge off welfare.
A friend of mine (owner of a donut shop) had a similar problem.
He needed the bathrooms to be handicap accessible. That does not mean an extra stall it just means that the existing stall needs to be wider. Since he owned 4 shops total and one was small, in the small one he combined the men’s and women’s rooms into one and put a passage lock on it. That seemed to satisfy the town.
Good advice there, especially about contacting a state representative. Thanks.
I suppose there are restrooms just not ADA BS rest rooms
There has to be room to turn a wheelchair in a circle, typically 48-inches. Then there’s the size, shape, and height of the toilet and the sink. If the plumbing is exposed under the sink, then you need to insulate the pipes so folks can’t burn themselves when they roll up to it. But still $10,000 is a lot to bring it up to code, unless it’s a really old bathroom.
In my blue city, every building has handicap parking .
HELL, my storage building has THREE spaces for a 6 parking space front. I’ve always wondered that if you’re handicap, how could you drive. MOST of the people I know who have these handicap decals look perfectly fine to me.
Dont forget the Local News. great for business too
If the establishment was a food place with tables before she signed the lease and the building owner leased it to her a food place that can have tables, she can make him pay for the renovation to the bathroom or stop paying the rent until he does the work - of course have to get a lawyer to go over this approach.
Fill the dining area with wheelchairs with trays.
I’d say that she has a good case for breaking her lease due to implied warranty, it’s not her responsibility to have a retail space represented as appropriate for a restaurant meet ADA code, it’s the landlord’s responsibility. What, the landlord wants to not only scam the poor lady into opening a restaurant knowing full well that it’s not compliant despite obviously representing that it was, but also to have her pay for renovations to his property to bring it up to code? No, don’t think so.
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