Exploring new places, especially restaurants can be exciting as well as daunting. You have multiple questions going on in your head, whether the food will be worth it, or will the ambience be good, what about the service? If you want to have a great experience and also do some good in the world, ditch your high-end chains and try these places that hire differently-abled people as their staff members. This International Day For Sign Language, TC46 collated a list of wonderful restaurants that you should definitely check out!
10 Socially Conscious Restaurants That Are Making A Change For The Better!
1. Chai Pe Charcha
A haven for a tea lover — there are not only board games kept on the tables with rustic yet colourful walls all around, but there is also a unique staff demographic to top it all. The restaurant has employed two deaf-and-dumb people as members of its service staff. They have a bell system that works and communication is effortless. They have extraordinary food with a great social corporate responsibility.Â
Location: Chai Pe Charcha, across all outlets
2. Mirchi And Mime, Mumbai
‘Sign language is my superpower, what’s yours?’ This is what’s written on their uniforms and it’s absolutely accurate! The communication is quite simple because they have a gesture glossary attached to their menu, so you don’t need to specially prepare before visiting. However, if you do, then it’s like sone pe suhaaga! They serve delicious food with a great ambience and a beautiful location.
Location: Mirchi And Mime, 6, One Boulevard, Lake Boulevard Road, Hiranandani Business Park, Powai, Mumbai
3. Ishaara, Mumbai
This is a relatively new place that has a completely deaf and mute wait staff. The name seems like a perfect fit for this place since you have to converse with the waiters through sign language, hence the name Ishaara, which means sign. You don’t need to know the sign language before visiting here, their entire menu has sign language codes written for each dish and each section, so you can communicate with them without any worries!
Location: Ishaara, 3rd Floor, 462, Palladium, High Street Phoenix, Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel, Mumbai
4. Spice Palate, Mumbai
The employees here are also known as ‘superhumans’ and Spice Palate is home to many speech and hearing-impaired employees. They serve delicious food and excellent service, which will want you to come back for more! The whole vibe of the restaurant is overwhelming, in a good way (obviously). The people here are super supportive and understand everything without you even saying a word!
Location: Spice Palate, Shop A1, Casa Mariana, L.M Road, Borivali West, Mumbai
5. Echoes, Delhi, Bangalore & Kolkata
Echoes is situated in three Indian cities (Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata), this chain is serviced by deaf and dumb staff that uses brilliantly designed graphic boards or sign language to communicate. The café has a variety of creative ways for customers to interact with the servers. If you want to call out to the staff, a bell is provided on each table that is connected to bulbs at the staff counter. You can also find a set of placards placed on every table with frequent phrases that customers use like ‘water please’, ‘call the manager’, ‘bill’, and ‘thank you’ written on them—you can simply show them to communicate. The customers are also provided with notepads to write down the codes of the various dishes on the menu.
Location: New Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata
6. Terrasinne, Pune
Terrasinne is Pune’s first socially conscious dining restaurant. This restaurant is an initiative that allows people with impaired speech and hearing to work and earn an income without discrimination. The bonus is that they have also tied up with farmers and source their vegetables directly from them; farm-to-table style.
Location: Terrasinne Restaurant, Bhosale Heights, Opp Deendayal Hospital, FC Road, Pune
7. Cafe Coffee Day
You may not see a hearing-impaired staff member in each of their outlets, they do have a lot of differently-abled people working for them. They work with the kitchen staff and are known as ‘Silent Brewmasters’. Café Coffee Day believes that the Silent brewmasters have a heightened sense of smell and vision and they ensure the most appealing taste and gorgeous visual presentation of their coffees. They focus on empowering people who otherwise might not have been given equal opportunities.
Location: Across all outlets in India
8. Costa Coffee
Mmh the aroma of freshly brewed coffee is bound to blow your minds away, along with wait staff and kitchen staff, Costa Coffee also aims at employing speech and hearing-impaired members to their back office for cashier, executive type of roles. However, you may not find every employee in Costa Coffee is deaf or mute, but you may encounter one when you order your next cuppa!
Location: Across all outlets in India
9. Nukkad, The Teafé, Chhattisgarh
At the Nukkad Teafé in Raipur, having a good time means a lot more than just drinking a delicious cup of steaming chai. You can indulge in poetry sessions, discuss books with like-minded people, make new friends and communicate in sign language with staff members. Nukkad was started in 2013 by Priyank Patel and only hires deaf and mute staff members for regular duties like managing the orders, handling the cash counters and serving the customers. This place has a truly rustic vibe and the staff’s warm smiles, indomitable spirit and super positive energy make the place even more special.
Location: Shri Ram Complex, GB 8, Samta Colony Main Rd, Opp Bank of Baroda, Samta Colony, Raipur, Chhattisgarh
10. Café Arpan, Mumbai
If you’re looking for a fun day out, then this is a must-visit location. An initiative of the non-profit Yash Charitable Trust, Café Arpan is truly a cafe with a cause since they employ developmentally challenged adults for the café’s kitchen duty and service. They not only have healthy snack options and beverages but they also host jam sessions with singers, instrument players, and classical dance performers that you can attend.
Location: Cafe Arpan, 20, Juhu Ruturaj CHS, Opposite SNDT Women’s University, Juhu Road, Mumbai
It’s time for a change and the time to do some good by supporting an amazing cause! Here is your list of must-try places that also help you do good for society. So, if you’re looking to dine out, ditch the chain of hotels and help out these wonderful establishments that can and will make a difference!