Limited Access
Every now and then I get an email from a reader asking about the physical accessibility of a certain restaurant. I must admit, physical accessibility is not something I think about often when reviewing places. But in the case of Parco Style Cafe, the subterranean Printers Alley restaurant featured in this week's dining review, I had to wonder how in the world you would get into the place if you couldn't maneuver the front stairs, or didn't have the agility of an eel to navigate the circuitous route through the kitchen from the Third Avenue entrance.
Fortunately, there is a group dedicated to studying the accessibility of local businesses and building awareness of the challenges to people in wheelchairs. Guided by a coalition of volunteers with disabilities and representatives from the fields of business, aging and disability, Access Nashville conducts reviews of various establishments and rates them on a scale of Wow Access, Good Access and Limited Access.
Access Nashville volunteer Kenton Dickerson works with the Center for Independent Living in Middle Tennessee. He offered to review Parco Style Cafe from the accessibility standpoint. Dickerson declared Parco to have Limited Accessibility for people in wheelchairs, the group's lowest rating. According to his review, the entrance in Printers Alley, down a flight of stairs, is not accessible. He adds, “Although there is a back-door entrance at ground level that a person with a disability can use by punching in a security code (posted on the door), the passage to get from this door to the restaurant dining area is too narrow for a wheelchair to pass through.” Furthermore, he adds, the rest room is not accessible.
Access Nashville provides assessments for approximately 100 local restaurants, and the organization is currently in the process of doubling the number of reviews on its website. Bites will add a permanent link to Access Nashville.
As for how Parco stacks up from a culinary standpoint, you'll have to read the Scene's review.
Comments
Best of luck to the new owners in reviving this place and/or keeping a glimmer of the Fu's dream alive.
Yes, there's a but coming...
But I would rather see (and can't imagine that they wouldn't have more success with) a Farmer's Market revival or something like that.
Downtown Nashville dining after 3:00 PM "is what it is". Printer's Alley "is what it is" -- a tough location within a tough location.
I get a little sick at my stomach thinking about the many other locations that Mr. Fu had considered before settling in Printer's Alley (he came VERY close to something in Germantown), and how it might all be different now.
I guess it is what it is.
Posted 02/27/2008 at 05:16:42 PMhow come no one called meeeeeee for that job? i have ALL the right qualifications AND i could tell you if it was worth eating there regardless if your chair fit or not...
sigh...
another lost opportunity - gone forever.
Posted 02/27/2008 at 06:19:00 PMI will miss the fruit tea from the Market as much as anything else. As for the Arcade location, you don't have to be chair-bound to have difficulty with those steps. I managed it twice, but lunch is not worth that effort. Never could figure out the back entrance.
BTW Sapporo is NOT in Madison. Rivergate. The difference is noticable.
Posted 02/28/2008 at 09:07:25 AMWent to lunch at Parco today and it was delicious! We split an appetizer (lightly fried tofu with great sauce) from the new owner's menu. It was very, very good! One of us had the veggie burger which tasted 90% like the Fu's version. And the basil tuna sandwich was at 90%, too. It was all delicious! And we'll be going back. I hope more people make the trip down the stairs. Glad that Parco is open for lunch once more.
Posted 03/07/2008 at 02:12:52 PM