Tokyo Lamington is known for its delicious specialty lamingtons. What is less well known is that they’re a leader in the accessible-venues space, and advocate for other Sydney businesses to make their venues inclusive for people with low vision and blindness. This is an important example to set, considering people with low vision or blindness are still often turned away from hospitality venues for having a guide dog in tow.
Tokyo Lamington put all its staff through accessibility training as part of the Access Means Business campaign developed by Guide Dogs NSW/ACT earlier this year. This training ensured Tokyo Lamington’s staff are fully prepared to assist customers with low vision and blindness and accommodate all people with disabilities, including Guide Dog Handlers.
Tokyo Lamington has hosted multiple events this year to encourage other venues to follow their lead, including the launch of the Access Means Business campaign, in collaboration with Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and the City of Sydney, and a pop-up event, inviting the local community and other local business owners to discuss how they can improve accessibility.
At the pop-up event, staff members who have undergone accessibility training spoke on what they’ve learnt, with many community members expressing shock at the discrimination people with low vision and blindness often face in hospitality venues. Members of the local police force also attended and voiced their support for the initiative.
Tokyo Lamington’s co-founder Min Chai says making your café or restaurant more accessible isn’t difficult or expensive, and just makes sense when it comes to improving your customer’s experience. There are some simple things businesses can do to improve accessibility for people with low vision or blindness laid out over here.
“Accessibility can make a huge difference to the way people with low vision and blindness experience your venue,” says Min. “This can be as easy as ensuring staff know how to react if someone walks in the door with a guide dog, and taking out hazards and visual clutter that make the space harder to navigate.”
Eddie Stewart, Tokyo Lamington’s other co-founder, says, “Ensuring accessibility at our bakery café is a top priority, as it allows us to create an inclusive environment where everyone in our community feels welcome.”
For simple advice all businesses can follow to improve accessibility for people with low vision or blindness, click here.
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