A Toronto resident is calling out a restaurant for leaving her out in the cold after allegedly lying about being wheelchair accessible on more than one occasion.
TikTok user Taylor Lindsay-Noel (@accessbytay) took to social media on Wednesday to share what she went through on a night out with friends.
Lindsay-Noel said that she visited Kasa Moto, a restaurant located in Yorkville, to celebrate her friend’s 30th birthday.
She explained how she called the establishment twice to confirm they were wheelchair accessible as laid out on Google. However, red flags went up when she arrived and only saw stairs leading up to the doors.
“Come to my surprise when I show up and there are steps to get into the restaurant, as well as steps inside,” she said in the video. “My friends went inside to ask for a portable ramp but they came out with the hostess who let me know that they did not have one,” she continued.
Staff apparently offered to lift her and her chair up which she declined stating that her chair alone weighs 350 pounds and she did not want to risk damaging it or worse, putting herself in danger.
The manager eventually came out and asked where she heard they were wheelchair accessible to which she answered, “two different people had told me, and Google.”
“At this point the night was ruined,” Lindsay-Noel said. “The reason I advocate so much for accessibility is to avoid situations like this. This was such a frustrating and disappointing night. When people in wheelchairs are left outside in the cold because the place lied about their accessibility this is a huge issue.”
Lindsay-Noel told Now Toronto in an email statement that she felt embarrassed and disheartened.
“I had done what I felt was more than due diligence in order to make sure this place was accessible, and it was embarrassing because we were left outside while other patrons watched on. It was really frustrating, and it was freezing outside,” she said.
She believes accessibility is an afterthought for restaurants and establishments and says it’s the reason she created her platform, with the intent to raise awareness so that “accessibility becomes a proactive measure, not a reactive measure after things go wrong.”
Her video had garnered nearly one million views in less than a day with others sharing their stories.
“My last time in Ontario, I was shocked at how non accessible restaurants were. They all have the bathrooms in the basement,” one user wrote.
“TBH i worked for a place that told me to tell callers that ‘we’re accessible’ for auditing purposes,” another person said.
Now Toronto reached out to Kasa Moto and did not hear back in time for publication.
However, Lindsay-Noel says that the restaurant has apologized and says it will be making a “substantial amount of changes” when it comes to training, as well as some structural changes, including a ramp.
“We have plans to have a further discussion, and I will 100% be following up with them to make sure that they follow through,” she said.
