The coffee shop of standard is now stepping up in terms of accessibility. Starbucks is opening its first store that will be accessible to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. The new store will be located in Washington D.C., and is working on hiring future employees with skills in American Sign Language.
The staff in the store will be wearing “I Sign” pins, notifying customers with hearing issues that they have the skills to communicate with them more effectively. The chain is focusing on making the shop a “deaf space” with an open environment for communication. When it opens, it will be available with visual communication tools to aid with customers in the process of placing and picking up orders. To add to their progressive moves, the coffee giant is also adding merchandise designed by deaf artists, showing further support to the community.
If you are looking forward to the opening, keep an eye out in the D.C. area, specifically on 6th and H Street, in October! If the opening goes well, one can hope that Starbucks will continue to create more deaf-friendly spaces in their stores.