Plus Size Restaurants The Plus Side

Our society is supposed to be all inclusive. No matter who you are,or  what you look like should not matter. Yet it does  in of all places restaurants. Eateries are  surprisingly not up on accommodating  overweight and obese people. Yet they should. We all enjoy a meal out with family and friends. Where we eat shouldn't put a damper on that.

Regular contributor,Kim Severson, wrote this eye opening and thoughtful piece for today's New York Times Food section. She interviewed both customers and managers in exploring this. Eating out for any overweight person can be nerve wracking,There  so many problems that they could encounter. Smaller places like fast food joints and storefront restaurants have very little elbow room to begin with, cramping even those with small frames. The seats are tiny, almost belonging in a nursery school.Bar stools are another problem. They , too, are tiny - not to mention too high for an overweight  person to sit on. Many leave with bruises and marks on their arms and legs due to poor seating. Then there's the fear of breaking flimsy seats. It doesn't help that most restaurant managers don't want to deal with a weight challenged customer , fearing that singling them out may cause unease and embarrassment. if there is a seat for them, the table is usually out in the eatery's hinterlands, far away from the main crowd, and sometimes hidden away.

Luckily all this is changing. One there are apps dedicated to plus size dining such as AllGo by Rebecca Alexander that is sort of like Yelp for the overweight.It also works with corporations and conglomerates to create accommodating offices,  restrooms. theaters and most importantly restaurants that are all inclusive. The last is important because quite a few places have no clue as how to handle  plus sizes. They are loath to do it for two reasons, one, there is no strategy for dealing with them and two, they don't want their dishes linked to obesity. some places like Waffle House, the 2100 unit restaurant chain in Georgia offers booths and fixed counter seating.It also provides larger customers with freestanding chairs at tables and counters.Many other chains have followed suit, adding movable furniture , wider booths and chairs. The last meets industry standards for people who weight as much as 400 pounds. Some of the changes happened thanks to The Americans With Disabilities Act to satisfy their requirements. A few restaurants probably just wanted to expand on the inclusiveness. Golden Corral Buffets has expanded their space which means more space between tables and chairs. Taco Bell has stopped bolting down their chairs allowing for more room and movement. White Castle did the same after almost being sued by a lawyer who had trouble with their chairs.

Restaurants should be all inclusive. It will take time but eventually all people will feel welcomed in a favorite eatery. There should be no prejudice against what a person look like.