February 12, 2012

The Gimp Visits Twisted Sisters

Business Name: Twisted Sisters
Location: 71st & Binford Boulevard in Indianapolis
Date: 2/8/12

  • Accessibility- ****1/2
  • Performance/Reliability: - ****1/2
  • Problem-Solving/Conflict Resolution: ****1/2
  • The Intangibles- ****1/2
  • Overall Experience- ****1/2

Sometimes, a place just feels like home. Twisted Sisters, a relatively new retail outlet in Indianapolis, is such a place. The brainchild of a couple of genuinely twisted sisters, Twisted Sisters is referred to on their website as “An Art Fair in a Box.” That’s an incredibly accurate description as Twisted Sisters is home to a variety of artsy furnishings big and small seemingly designed for the not so ordinary mind. Twisted Sisters was recently voted the #1 Gift Shop in Indianapolis by WRTV-6′s “A-List.” So, the Gimp went to check things out for himself.

Twisted Sisters is located on the northeastside of Indy in a small strip center that also houses a Sprint retail center, a Marco’s Pizza and a Great Clips. The neighborhood is an upper-middle class area, a prime location for an artsy gift shop with middling prices that tend to start from about $10 and head on up. There are a few items less expensive, but I couldn’t help but notice that just about everything I genuinely wanted started around the $30 mark and went as high as this awesome chandelier that I fell in love with for $179.00.

Being a recently renovated retail center, this particular strip can easily be considered wheelchair friendly despite the oddity of only having wheelchair accessible spots at the end of the building. The wheelchair spots are appropriate, well designed and the curb cut easily meets ADA requirements.  My sense is that they avoided putting a curb cut in front of the building to avoid any potential accident by traffic driving by, a legitimate concern, but this could create more of a problem for those with mobility or endurance issues if you’re having to walk from one end of the building to the other (The parking/curb cut is only at one end).

Twisted Sisters is located about midway down the strip center with one manual door leading into the store. When you arrive, you will most likely be met by one of three poodles owned by the sisters – Izzie, Mya or Nada. The poodles join the sisters at work most days, and two (Nada and Mya) were present during my visit. Between the fact that these were poodles, not exactly quiet dogs, and I arrived in my wheelchair, I spent the first few minutes hoping that my entire visit would not consist of experiencing dogs barking at the wheelchair. After a relatively brief time, however, the dogs seemed to accept that I wasn’t a threat and Nada and I became fast friends. After a particularly stressful day at work, the presence of an attentive and playful dog was actually pretty therapeutic. I would later learn that the dogs had spent quite a bit of time around a family member in a wheelchair, which would likely explain their relatively calm demeanor and comfort with the wheelchair.

I’m always hesitant to go to gift shops, mostly because they’re filled with breakables and narrow aisles that can be quite difficult to navigate for wheelchairs. Twisted Sisters had clearly put quite a bit of thought into the design of their store, with only one small section being difficult to navigate by wheelchair and all nooks, crannies and corners being accessible by wheelchair. That said, the store does have quite a few breakables so it’s definitely not a location that would do well with someone who might have difficulty maneuvering or who would be prone to impulsive movements. While the store did have some items on shelves or out of reach (including the chandelier), given the history of this type of store I was quite impressed by its accessibility.

The bonus perk at Twisted Sisters is that not only does the store have a public bathroom, but it is wheelchair accessible (and advertised that way!). It’s a unisex bathroom that is quite accessible and impressive with wide enough doorways and move around room. Because it’s a private bathroom, it could also work for those who require assistance as an assistant of either gender could easily accompany without drawing attention. Very impressive! (Twisted Sisters does lose a 1/2 star here because when I arrived they’d just received a shipment and the bathroom was blocked by several boxes. However, I have no doubt at all the sisters would have moved the boxes had the need existed.

Customer service was attentive and conversational, but never high-pressure. It was a feel good, positive experience. In fact, I’d sort of stumbled into the location while getting my haircut and had no intention of purchasing with limited funds in my pocket. That said, I was treated quite well throughout my visit and I assured them I’d be back (and I will).

I’m always hearing “buy local” or “buy independent,” but sometimes that’s difficult for a person with a disability (especially those on a fixed income) because indies and locals often have higher prices and, at times, are weaker in terms of accessibility. So, it’s particularly exciting when I find a quality local business that has obviously made the effort to be welcoming to all.

As much as I say “local,” a perusal of the Twisted Sisters website reveals “sister” locations in Ireland. This appears to be their first location (though they recently moved from a different Indianapolis location) in the United States and, indeed, Twisted Sisters is a welcome addition to the Indianapolis indie landscape.

Posted by on February 12, 2012 in Indianapolis IN, Retail Experiences and tagged , , , , , , .

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February 5, 2012

The Gimp Touches Down in Super Bowl Village

Business Name: 2012 Super Bowl
Location: Downtown Indianapolis
Date: The week preceding 2012 Super Bowl

  • Accessibility- ***
  • Performance/Reliability: - **1/2
  • Problem-Solving/Conflict Resolution: **1/2
  • The Intangibles- **1/2
  • Overall Experience- **1/2

The Gimp is from and still resides in Indianapolis.  Indianapolis is what many might call a “‘tweener” city…It’s the 12th most populated city in the United States, but for whatever reason has consistently maintained a small town mentality and an almost apologetic view of itself when relating with the media and popular culture.

Snagging the Super Bowl is a huge win for the city, the result of years of planning and efforts going all the way back to popular Mayor William Hudnut and including everyone since then including current Mayor Greg Ballard. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have one of the best NFL owners on your side in Jim Irsay along with future NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. While the abysmal record of the Indianapolis Colts this past season certainly put a damper on everything, the simple truth is that the city, from the richest to the only modestly rich (Who are we kidding? With the exception of photo ops, the Super Bowl is NOT about the poor folks) has wrapped itself around this event like nothing we’ve ever seen and, against the predictions of nearly everyone in national media, the Super Bowl XLVI Host Committee, barring any tragedy’s at tonight’s game, has managed to produce what may become known as the best Super Bowl hosting yet.

For the most part, the kudos are well deserved and I give my applause to the thousands of volunteers who’ve given their hearts and souls for this effort along with the “paid staff” who’ve gone above and beyond in creating a memorable week of events.

Even if I could afford to attend the Super Bowl, I doubt I’d ever find myself spending that much money for what amounts to a day-long exercise in self-mutilation called wading through downtown, parking and coping with the sea of chaos known as Super Bowl day. Maybe I’d feel differently if I’d had tickets to the game or if I’d been asked to serve as one of Madonna’s gladiators, but it’s likely I’ll only ever get excited if it’s announced that the Oscar Awards will be hosted by our city…even then, I’d rather play host to The Independent Spirit Awards or even the Razzies.

It was with a certain amount of trepidation that I found myself on more than one occasion journeying down to Super Bowl Village, a three-block NFL wonderland set up in downtown Indianapolis to lure both residents and non-residents into immersing themselves into the popular culture and media frenzy created by the Super Bowl. Depending on the time of day, Super Bowl Village has played host to open-air, free concerts attended by thousands along with the NFL Experience, Tailgate Town, ESPN’s broadcast area, the famed Super Bowl roman numerals, FanDome, four “ziplines” offering an aerial view of downtown Indy and a variety of other displays, exhibitions, party exhibitions and on and on.

In other words, Super Bowl Village has been nuts morning, noon and night.

Into this crassly commercialized chaos ventured this solo, wheelchair using gimp armed only with my generally cheerful demeanor and a willingness to be freakishly abandoned in my wheelchair should it be required in order to escape the extraordinary busyness.

To their credit and not surprisingly, the Super Bowl Hosting Committee has certainly made an effort to make the Super Bowl Village experience a disability friendly experience. Gregory Fehribach, a local attorney and longtime disability activist in Indy who’s in a wheelchair himself, has served as one of the Committee’s coordinators on ADA issues and his influence can be felt in certain aspects of the ADA planning including a concerted effort to offer specific drop off/pick up areas that are disability friendly and to address the parking needs of individuals with disabilities (though anyone with half a brain knows that virtually anyone with any health issue can obtain one of the disability window placards whether it’s actually needed or not). On the Super Bowl Hosting Committee’s website, ADA issues are addressed quite clearly in the area of parking. Sadly, there’s almost no other information addressing the disabled such as which activities, exhibits and locations are disability friendly and which one’s will make special arrangements.

So, let’s just cut to the chase. Does the Super Bowl Village here in Indy ultimately pass The Gimp’s test?

The short answer is “No.”

When it comes down to it, virtually every aspect of Super Bowl Village is decidedly non-gimp friendly. The volunteers have been extraordinary in every case, and there’s been an undeniable willingness to assist as needed. Truthfully, Indianapolis crowds (both residents and non-residents) have been friendly and, at times, even protective (especially during late night concerts where the turn-out was far higher than anyone expected and folks were packed in so uncomfortably that even sardines would be uncomfortable).

There have been two areas of Super Bowl Village that have been particularly disappointing – 1) The complete lack of options for disabled fans in terms of the “ziplines,” these high wire devices allowing a 20-second trip on what is billed as the “longest temporary zip line in the country,” and 2) The outdoor concerts, standing room only concert experiences not that far removed from those Central Park concerts in New York City but in an area much more boxed in and limited in space.

First, the “zipline.” The zipline required you to walk up many flights (I believe it’s either 12 or 17) up to a platform. From there, you are harnessed in and maneuvered into the required equipment. The entire ride takes approximately 20 seconds and is completed only after you’ve signed a release of liability. Now then, you’re probably thinking to yourself “Duh” when I report being unable to participate in this activity. Heck, why would a gimp want to?

Then again, why would a gimp want to wheel across the state (I have)? Skydive (I have)? or Bungee jump (I have)?

Because we’re human, too…and we LOVE adventures.

There’s NOTHING on the website implying that someone with a disability cannot participate (it does state that you must be at least 6 years old and the weight limit is 265 lbs).

I am well over 6-years-old and significantly under 265 lbs.

Okay, maybe not significantly.

The truth is that I wasn’t particularly surprised to find this feature non-gimp friendly, but I was disappointed to see little in the way of an alternative arrangement for folks with physical challenges. I felt much like I did when I visited St. Louis and attempted to enter the Gateway Arch only to be told I wasn’t allowed.

In other words, I was p***ed.

The outdoor concerts offered up a similar experience, though a more familiar one as concert attendance can always be a bit tricky when one’s in a wheelchair or has mobility issues.

Every night of the week served up different concerts, ranging from 80′s disco band Village People to current hitmakers LMFAO and quite a few others. In theory, these concerts were perfectly accessible. After all, the concerts were outdoors in what amounts to a very large alley type area. These concerts were “general admission” free concerts with the highest attendance estimated at 35,000+ for the evening featuring LMFAO. Local law enforcement quickly adjusted their methods of crowd management after the LMFAO concert, with all involved acknowledging that downtown Indy had never seen such a crowd and it far surpassed what had been expected. To their credit, law enforcement handled it well and responded quickly when it was realized that the crowds were beginning to get restless as there were so many of them in a limited space.

But, if you were a gimp in this crowd you were running the risk of serious injury (Fights did break out, despite local media reports that only 11 people were injured (B.S.!) and none seriously (Again, B.S.~!). While it certainly wasn’t a disaster, it was a potential disaster and in the same city where multiple people just lost their lives at a weather related concert this past summer. If there had, by some odd fluke, been a weather related emergency (or some other emergency) odds are strong that another tragedy was waiting to happen. Fortunately, it didn’t. This area offered little chance that someone with a disability could see decently or comfortably join in…in short, it was an outdoor concert with almost no planning for the disabled.

During the day, the Super Bowl experience was considerably more positive. The NFL Experience, while containing activities not wheelchair friendly, also had staff that were disability friendly and creative in the ways they found to be inclusive. There were also ample other opportunities for individuals with disabilities to enjoy the festivities. The vast majority of food areas and rest areas were also gimp friendly. While the restroom situation was a bit precarious, one could easily tell some thought had been put into it all.

It has been no secret that I don’t exactly fancy the whole football thing. While I’m impressed with the Host Committee’s work and would be proud of Indy being labeled the “best” or “one of the best” host cities ever, I also found myself frustrated at times with the crass commercialization of the entire experience and the dreadful behavior and price gouging by certain area merchants who far surpassed the expected price increases. Furthermore, local media has acted virtually the entire week like they’ve never seen a celebrity before with broadcast and non-broadcast media all swooning over every B, C, D and No-list celebrity to make an appearance. Only a few A-listers seem to have made the trip and, not surprisingly, most of them have avoided the media circus. As a local film writer, I gave thought to chasing, at most, 3-4 interviews and in the end met the couple of celebrities I most wanted to meet and ended up with no interviews (but one potential in the future).

What has most bummed me out about the experience is that I’d really looked at this whole experience as Indy’s chance to re-define the Super Bowl culture and weave it together with Hoosier Hospitality and a little bit of common sense. I’d hoped to see more opportunities for lower income folks, folks with disabilities and families. Instead, it seems like Super Bowl Culture re-defined Indianapolis and revealed a surprising degree of materialism and greed. The legislature had just passed strengthened sex trafficking laws, but local media has failed miserably in providing coverage of this issue throughout this week (and there have been cases). While there’s no denying that Indy has done an extraordinary job of hosting, one only wishes that more thought had been put into accessibility issues and that local media would quit fawning and act with journalistic integrity in honestly and accurately covering every aspect of the Super Bowl experience.

Posted by on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis IN, Special Events and tagged , , , , , .

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January 30, 2012

The Gimp Rant #9: A Rant About Faith and Emily

I have a confession.

I’m not always an upbeat, optimistic and life-affirming person. There are days when it takes every ounce of energy I have just to get myself out of bed in the morning, get ready for work and to handle the fundamentals of my daily life. Living as a paraplegic, double amputee with spina bifida is hard. It’s exhausting. Sometimes, it’s completely and utterly frustrating. There are days, an increasing number as I get older, when my body betrays my mind and my ability to do doesn’t match up with my desire to do.

There are days when I truly feel disabled.

I’ve been having more of these days than usual, mostly a result of changes in my work schedule and the recent death of one of my primary physical supports. I still keep a schedule that boggles the mind of many of my friends with work, ministry, writing, film criticism and child rights activism all having major roles in my daily life.

However, lately I’ve been struggling and, for the first time in a long time, when I look in the mirror these days I see someone who is “disabled.”

I was sitting in a recent church function feeling particularly disabled. I was hurting physically, my hygiene was poor and my energy was depleted. Truthfully, I didn’t want to be there. However, when it comes to the children in our church I always make a greater effort than usual to be supportive because, well, we have awesome children and youth. I was sitting there tired, a little embarrassed and not feeling well.

Then, she looked at me. She smiled. She giggled actually. LOUDLY.

“She” was one-year-old Emily.

The church program continued, but for the better part of the next 30-45 minutes Emily’s attention seldom strayed from me. I would look away and look back. She’d be looking directly at me. Even before the program was over, Emily wandered over to me in that way that a one-year-old can wander and stood next to my wheelchair. She curiously looked all around the wheelchair, then looked back at me and smiled again. This continued for several minutes, minutes during which I began to realize that suddenly I felt less disabled, less dirty and less pain.

As I get older, I find myself once in awhile having to deal with those creeping doubts. There are days when the pain is so severe and the daily challenges so intense that I find myself just wanting to crawl into a hole and hibernate until it’s all over. I question God, sometimes fervently and not in the kindest of language. “How can I possibly minister when there are days I can barely get dressed?,” I’ll find myself pleading.

Proving once again to have both a sense of humor and infinite wisdom, God this day placed into my period of darkness and doubt the innocence of a small child. With only a smile and a gentle presence, young Emily became one of God’s wisest and most loving teachers. She became a reminder that serving God and living a faithful life isn’t about being able to walk or talk or care for oneself. Serving God and living a faithful life is about being able to surrender and love and, with arms open wide, love someone who is dirty, broken, poor or simply different. Emily became my reminder that my ministry isn’t dependent upon having a body that functions normally or on my ability to be completely independent. My ministry, I believe, is about being strong through vulnerability and about showing just how much joy can radiate through this body that so often feels broken and disheveled.

In the book of Luke, Jesus admonishes those who would turn away the children and, taking it even further, says “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Emily, by simply showing up and smiling and loving unconditionally, reminds brings this Scripture vividly to life and also reminds me that just as I enter the kingdom like a child I must also serve in ministry with that same honesty, openness, vulnerability and surrender. If Emily, a young child still completely dependent upon her parents for virtually every aspect of daily life, can be such a shining example of God’s love then how can I possibly doubt my ministry? How can I possibly turn my back on any child of God?

There are days I hurt, I struggle and I can barely function. Can I really still be the minister that God wants me to be? Thanks to the innocent smiles of one-year-old Emily, I finally remembered that God says “Yes!”

Posted by on January 30, 2012 in Gimp Rants and tagged , , , , , .

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January 27, 2012

The Gimp Goes to Incredible Pizza Company

Business Name: Incredible Pizza Company
Location: 8707 Hardegan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46227
Date: January 27, 2012

  • Accessibility- ***1/2
  • Performance/Reliability: - ***
  • Problem-Solving/Conflict Resolution: ***1/2
  • The Intangibles- ***
  • Overall Experience- ***1/2

If you really want to know something about a restaurant, try visiting it during off hours. I’ve often found this to be especially true when visiting a buffet experience, where the non-peak hours can often result in a lesser food selection, colder food and a less attentive staff. I had the opportunity to test this today during my visit at Incredible Pizza Company on the Southside of Indianapolis.

Incredible Pizza Company is part of a small chain with locations currently in six states plus one in Monterrey, Mexico. Incredible Pizza Company weaves together the “Incredible Buffet” and a wide variety of fun & games experiences. If you were to take aspects of Chuck E. Cheese and blend them with Dave & Busters you might get an idea of what to expect from Incredible Pizza Company, a large facility that could best be described as an entertainment complex for the family. In addition to the aforementioned buffet (which I’ll discuss in a minute), they also offer a “Video Experience” where  a movie is showing (today’s was “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory”), a “high school gymnasium” for family dining with various kids’ shows on big screens, a “living room” showing retro television shows (“Bewitched” was on while I was there) and a “diner” style experience. They also offer areas for birthday parties, which seemed to be a big emphasis of the place. The fun spots would be a rather large game room with an emphasis on interactive games (like skee-ball) and a noticeable lack of video games. They also offer bumper cars (which looked delightful) and glow in the dark miniature golf experience. It’s all indoors!

There are a wide variety of packages that include games, though my primary motivation today was simply having a mid-afternoon lunch after a long day of work meetings. I certainly planned to check out the place thoroughly, if nothing else for this review, but had little interest in an extended afternoon of gaming (Though I will confess I lingered in the viewing room watching “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory”).

There’s much for those living with physical challenges to love about Incredible Pizza Company, a spacious and obviously well designed restaurant. This location (there are two in Indy) offers ample wheelchair accessible parking, a small curb cut directly in front of the restaurant and easy access for those with mobility challenges or in a wheelchair. The front entrance has two-sided doors for both entering and exiting, which offers a wider space for those in wheelchairs. In fact, there was a customer in an electric wheelchair in the restaurant during my visit. I watched them as they navigated the restaurant and they clearly were able to function pretty well (with some assistance from their dining guest).

Once I got inside, a bit of a red flag did go off as I approached the front cashier. The cashier is located at a space that almost resembles what you’d find in a movie theater. The exception being that the booth was a touch high for customers in wheelchairs. As I was using my debit card for lunch, this became an issue when I needed to sign the receipt. In a facility that seems to have been intentionally designed for accessibility, this seems like a rather surprising faux pas that simply wasn’t thought through well enough.

Once you pay, this location has their buffet on their right. This includes a salad bar, an area for pizzas (of course), a dessert area and a few other miscellaneous items like a baked potato bar (I didn’t try it, but it looked well stocked!). To the left was the main dining area that is decked out like a high school gymnasium with simple tables and chairs. While there are no spaces specifically designated for wheelchairs, all the tables are pretty easily accessible and the chairs are fairly light to move. If I’d gone straight ahead, I’d have entered the game room.

One of the reasons for my observation about going to places off hours is that it’s always interesting to see how the staff acts when there aren’t a ton of customers around. While the place wasn’t empty, it also was far from packed and multiple staff were simply lingering about the place. I was surprised to not see anything anywhere posted describing the place or how it all works. They were friendly, but a bit detached. I found this to be true in each place that I went in the restaurant with the exception of one time at the buffet when the person attending it assisted as I struggled to balance a plate while grabbing a slice of pizza. One staff, as well, responded incredibly well when he saw me trying to read a sign listing their pizzas that was posted too high. He went over and placed it within my view. Excellent!

All of the dining areas are easily accessible and offer a variety of seating options. The game room is easily accessible, though not unexpectedly certain games would be more challenging (any requiring transfers, perhaps). Also, participating in the bumper cars would depend on one’s ability to actually transfer and maneuver the cars. The miniature golf set-up struck me as easily workable by wheelchair, with no major obstacles nor any small hills set up as part of trick shots. As someone who played putt-putt throughout childhood, I found myself wanting to return one day simply to play this game.

Incredible Pizza Company really excelled in the bathroom facilities, where both men’s and women’s facilities were accessible (Okay, I KNOW the men’s is accessible. The women’s is labeled that way. I didn’t actually go in. I promise). But, the real kicker is that Incredible Pizza Company also has a family bathroom, an single bathroom set-up with both the physically challenged and families with small children in mind. It’s rare in restaurants, but a huge plus.

If there was a weakness to this visit, beyond what felt like a general lack of attentiveness, it would be the food itself. While they consistently replenished the pizzas, it simply wasn’t that tasty. I’d almost consider it on the low-end of the CiCi’s scale, and they even have a similar philosophy that they will take special orders and make it within 10 minutes (I was told this three times…about the only tip I received while there). I also tried some french fries (horrid), some fried potatoes (fairly tasty) and something else that has already gone out of my memory. I tend to be rather basic with my pizza taste – give me pepperoni or sausage and I’m happy. I wouldn’t say it was bad…simply rather bland. It reminded me of Chuck E. Cheese, where the emphasis is clearly on the fun rather than the food. They also offer pasta, which I didn’t try, and soups, which I also didn’t try on this visit. It is worth noting that while it’s not exactly a distance, those with mobility issues should note that they will be carrying their plate of food a bit farther than what’s usual for restaurants. (Food and drinks are not allowed in the gaming area).

At right around $8-10 per person depending upon when you visit, Incredible Pizza Company isn’t exactly an inexpensive trip for the family. It’s more of a special treat destination or, perhaps, a terrific location for children’s parties. It also doesn’t really offer enough for adults to be considered for adult gatherings. The movie viewing is nice, but for $10 I’ll rent a movie and pick up a pizza on my way home.

It’s also important to note that Incredible Pizza Company is a faith-based company, a fact that they wear proudly on their website and throughout their restaurant. There’s a fish symbol on the door and signs at this location noting a Sunday morning church service by City Life Church in the restaurant and a Bible study on Tuesdays at 4pm. So, if outward displays of faith are something you find bothersome you may not appreciate your experience here.

My gut feeling given the vibe of Incredible Pizza Company is that they are more attentive during peak hours. However, given that this location is a considerable drive for me, the food is merely average and the prices are a tad high it’s highly unlikely I would go out of my way to experience this restaurant again. However, if I’m in the area and joining friends I certainly wouldn’t resist it. Families with children who have disabilities will appreciate the layout, the family restroom and the ease of access.

Posted by on January 27, 2012 in Indianapolis IN, Restaurants and tagged , , , , , , .

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January 25, 2012

The Gimp Meets the Godfather

Business Name: Godfather’s Pizza
Location: 410 N. Monroe Street, Mooresville, IN 46158
Date: January 25, 2012

  • Accessibility- ***1/2
  • Performance/Reliability: - ****
  • Problem-Solving/Conflict Resolution: ****1/2
  • The Intangibles- ****
  • Overall Experience- ****

I’ll confess that I thought about former presidential candidate Herman Cain on more than one occasion during today’s stop at Mooresville, Indiana’s Godfather’s Pizza. Despite the fact that Cain left Godfather’s as CEO in 1996, his status in seeking the Republican Presidential nomination will likely forever link the two.

I don’t get around to Mooresville very often, a small city on the Southwest corner of Central Indiana in Morgan County. However, my full-time job took me to Mooresville for a training today and during our lunch break I decided I needed time to process and time to simply chill. Imagine my joy when I made the wrong turn and ran smack dab into this small strip mall with a rather decently sized Godfather’s Pizza.

They even had a lunch buffet. I’m still stuffed!

As a kid, my mother and I loved Godfather’s Pizza (our waistlines show it!) but there are actually very few left in Indianapolis. So, it had been quite awhile and despite my reservations about eating at a buffet knowing I’d have to sit through an afternoon of training I simply couldn’t resist.

The Mooresville Godfather’s Pizza is located in a one-floor strip mall and, as I noted, is a decently sized location. It should be noted that a good portion of its size is devoted to a “games” area. I did not see any identified wheelchair accessible parking, though the layout of the parking lot was friendly enough that it wasn’t hard to find a workable spot. There’s also not an “official” curb cut at this building, though the sidewalk entering the restaurant is extremely low to the ground and would be easily accessible for most wheelchairs. Those with weaker arms may need a touch of assistance to pop up the lip of the curb a bit. The entrance to the restaurant is a two-sided manual door. There’s an uncluttered path that leads to the cash register where you order. Next to this area is a counter where the “buffet” is placed. To the right once you enter, there’s a dining area that includes both table and booth options. It would likely be difficult for someone in a wheelchair to eat at a booth without blocking the aisle, but there are several table options. They are at an appropriate height and the chairs were easily moved.

The relatively small buffet counter included room for 3-4 pizzas at a time, breadsticks and a salad bar. I must admit that I wasn’t overly impressed with the pizza selection. When I arrived, there were two slices of cheese, no pepperoni, no sausage and some weird thing that may have been pineapple. I honestly couldn’t tell. The crew did replace the pizzas regularly, but I was bummed that my favorite “deep dish sicilian” was never served up. That said, I was able to find something each time I returned (which I swear was not that much!). Buffets are always a bit of a tricky thing for anyone with limited mobility or range of motion. They’re typically a bit high, which creates the need to both stretch our arms and precisely cut a slice of pizza. I am typically pretty good at this, though these pizzas weren’t thoroughly sliced and it was a bit of a challenge. On one return trip, one of the two primary servers saw me struggling and, after a few moments of deciding whether or not to help, simply couldn’t resist herself. She generally handled this well and her assistance was appreciated.

The beverages were self-serve with your typical soft drink dispenser (that included iced tea). These can also be challenging for folks in wheelchair due to their height and the need to retrieve ice, get the drink and bring the drink down without spilling it. With limited range of motion, it can be challenging. Help was not offered, but I had no difficulty with it.

I checked out the rest of the place. The game room was easily accessible through a wide enough door off to the side. I did not visit the restroom, though I did note that there was not a wheelchair symbol on the door. Not all businesses utilize the symbol, so I won’t necessarily assume that was a bad sign.

The food quality was solid, though the selection was a tad disappointing. I had visions of the old Godfather’s deep dish as I pulled into the parking lot, and I was disappointed to never have that option. I was also disappointed that at one point when I returned to the counter and there was only one pizza that I couldn’t identify no one bothered to ask what kind I might like. I suppose I’ve been spoiled by the folks at Cici’s Pizza, who do this automatically with a smile on their faces.

While I’m not convinced that Godfather’s was designed with accessibility in mind, it is an easily accessible and good quality option for the consumer with a disability in Morgan County of Indiana. I would also toss in that the lunch buffet is a tad high priced as my bill came in at $8.08 for the buffet with a drink (which places it above Cici’s, but on par with a few other pizza chains like Marco’s). Still, it was a pleasant change of pace with friendly staff and a pleasant, “country” vibe to it that made for a relaxing break in the middle of a hard day at work. When I’m in Mooresville again, I won’t hesitate to return.

 

Posted by on January 25, 2012 in Mooresville IN, Restaurants and tagged , , , , , .

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