Observe any group of deaf people roaming through a city. They will have difficulty agreeing upon a restaurant, cafe, or bar. How can a single place satisfy so many flavor preferences and levels of hunger?
Fortunately for deaf people, there is Chipotle.
It is not a coincidence that Chipotle has experienced explosive growth in the Washington, D.C. area, also home to many deaf people and the world’s only deaf university—Gallaudet. A significant portion of Chipotle’s revenue likely comes from the hordes of deaf people who eat at this fine dining establishment. Before Chipotle, though, deaf people nearly starved to death because they had to endlessly discuss various restaurant options, seating arrangements, and relative deaf-friendliness.
But now that Chipotle has sprinkled across the United States like black beans on rice, Deaf people are often found at this homogenized version of the traditional San Francisco taqueria.
They conveniently point at each ingredient (e.g. barbacoa, cheese, pico de gallo), shuffle down the line, and with a minimum of communicative fuss indicate that they would like some chips and salsa, please. Drinks are self-serve, further minimizing any contact with a hearing person. The diversity of seating arrangements enable Chipotle to accommodate different group sizes, a crucial factor because deaf people are nearly always found in roaming and hungry packs of variable size. Indeed, deaf people’s adoption of Chipotle as a default feeding location has been so thorough that there is now an ASL sign for Chipotle.
If you want to meet a deaf person for lunch or dinner, Chipotle is an safe choice, be they carnivore or vegetarian. Their respect for you will go up an notch, while their belt buckles lose a notch.
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