This Lebanese restaurant just released a menu for the visually impaired

Lebanon-based restaurant Casper & Gambini’s has just launched a braille menu that caters to costumers with visual impairment.

The internationally-franchised chain hails its initiative as the first of its kind to be presented by a restaurant in Lebanon, noting that the menu was created with the support of the Lebanese Society of the Blind and Deaf (LSBD) - a school working to help students reach their full potential, and promote social and economic inclusion. 

"We are working to make Casper & Gambini’s accessible to all without any discrimination," a Casper & Gambini’s spokesperson told StepFeed. "We strive to bring innovation to all our work: from innovating the culinary experience to CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] activities."

The spokesperson said that the menu has also been launched in Egypt, and they are currently working on introducing it in other countries. 

In an official press release, the restaurant explained that the menu aims at allowing the "blind, partially blind, or visually impaired community [...] to independently participate in social activities with friends and family." 

The restaurant hopes to take a stand against discrimination and promote the full integration of "all segments of our community".

"We know that certain groups in our community are overlooked because of their disabilities, and by this initiative we are hoping that other companies make the effort to become inclusive of all segments of our community," the spokesperson said.

"We hope other restaurants follow and take it even further, with braille menus, but also to provide the means to make the social and dining experience of any disabled person easier."

Casper &Gambini's considers itself the first restaurant to introduce a braille menu in Lebanon. At a wider scope, however, Lebanese coffee-shop Café Younes had launched a braille menu in 2010. 

Lebanese national Ghina Achkar, who has been blind since the age of 16, told StepFeed that she considers it a great initiative that will help "blind customers feel more autonomous when visiting the restaurants".

She explained, "Big wins are made of successive small achievements and this is definitely one of those." 

However, she noted that there is still a long way to go, especially since not all visually impaired people read braille, herself included. 

"It is usually the case when people have lost their eyesight over the course of their life. I, for instance, became blind at the age of 16 and never mastered the technique. I usually try to find a blind friendly alternative online, which is not always an easy case," she said.

Achkar added that it is necessary for restaurants to train staff members to spot blind customers and hand them the right menu, saying, "Not all of us own Labradors and wear shades." 

As for her experience in Lebanon, Achkar said that there is "a predominant culture that views blind people, and those who suffer from a disability in general, as people you need to assist rather than give them the chance to show you that things can be done differently."

"People are usually friendly, but they often do not know how to deal with a person who interacts with the world in a different way," she added.