Starbucks is rolling out a new design to improve accessibility for their stores, the company said in an announcement on Friday. The first store to showcase the changes has opened near Union Market in Northeast D.C.
The design at the 331 N Street NE store includes power-operated doors and features for customers with low vision, according to Starbucks.
Digital displays showing visual updates on the status of orders; acoustic changes to reduce background noise and more room around entryways are some of the new features customers may notice, Starbucks said.
Lower countertops will also be better able to accommodate people who use wheelchairs, and a new point-of-sale system will have upgraded accessibility features, Starbucks said.
Starbucks says the “Inclusive Spaces Framework” is central to its "mission of connection and will lead to greater access for all,” senior vice president of store operations Katie Young said in a statement.
"Moving forward, all new and renovated Starbucks stores in the U.S. will leverage the Inclusive Spaces Framework," the company said in a press release.
The D.C. store features a mural designed by a deaf artist and college professor, Ryan Seslow.
“We don't have all the answers, we're not going to solve all of the problems that we have around inclusion, accessibility, disabilities, all in one mural, obviously. But it will create conversations and it will create a space and it can create a dialogue … And that's a great starting point,” Seslow told Starbucks, according to the press release.
It's not the first time Starbucks piloted accessibility features in D.C. The coffee chain's first signing store opened near Gallaudet University in 2018.
