Court says San Diego Chipotle Mexican Grill violated ADA with wall that doesn't allow wheelchair users to see food

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

SAN FRANCISCO -- On the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal appeals court said the law entitles wheelchair users at a restaurant to the same view as everyone else of the food that awaits them - in this case, burritos, tacos and the rest of the fare at Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The 45-inch-high wall between the customer line and the food preparation counter at two Chipotle restaurants in San Diego County, which blocked the view of patrons in wheelchairs, violated the 1990 federal law that requires equal treatment of the disabled, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said July 26.

The court said the accommodation the company offered - bringing spoonfuls of each dish to wheelchair users for inspection before ordering - didn't measure up.

That would provide only "a substitute experience that lacks the customer's personal participation in the selection and preparation of the food," the court said in a 3-0 ruling.

Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said the Denver company is already meeting the court's standard in California.

Several years ago, in an action unrelated to the lawsuit, Chipotle retrofitted its California restaurants with "a new counter design that eliminates any concern regarding wheelchair accessibility," Arnold said in a statement. He said the company is using the same design for new and renovated restaurants in other states.

The plaintiff's lawyer said the company's response contrasted with its adamant stance since the suit was filed in 2005.

"They wanted the pretty dining room at the expense of wheelchair users," said the attorney, Amy Vandeveld. "All they're doing now is what we've been asking them to do for five years."

Vandeveld said her client, Maurizio Antoninetti, suffered a disabling injury while in the Italian army and now works for San Diego State University. He sued Chipotle after finding that the barrier at its San Diego and Encinitas restaurants blocked his view of the counter, where customers can inspect each dish, choose their order and watch it being prepared.

Upholding a federal judge's ruling, the appeals court said the barrier "subjects (disabled customers) to a disadvantage that non-disabled customers do not suffer."

The court's order to modify or remove the barriers applies only to the two restaurants, but it sets standards for federal cases in California and eight other Western states.