The entrance of a downtown café boasts a new eye-catching feature that, despite its bright green paint job, is not first and foremost a style choice.
It's a StopGap ramp and, this afternoon, Salute Coffee Company on Elm Street became the first downtown business to install the accessibility feature, which allows customers using wheelchairs or mobility scooters to enter and exit the establishment effortlessly.
Until now, those caffeine fiends were forced to take their business elsewhere due to a four-inch step leading into the café from the sidewalk.
Salute's owner, Tania Renelli, jumped at the opportunity to host the first StopGap ramp in the downtown. Though her second location has only been open since May, she'd already been looking for a solution for the barrier at her entrance so she could properly serve customers with mobility challenges.
“There was no question that it was something we needed to tackle,” said Renelli. “Within the first few weeks (of being open), we got calls from people saying 'we want to come to your establishment but we can't get in.'”
When a customer in a wheelchair did come to the shop, Salute staff would carry their order outside to them, which Renelli knew was not an adequate level of service.
She was aware of StopGap in other cities like Toronto or Ottawa but didn't know the initiative had made its way to Sudbury — until lead volunteer Nadine Law came into the shop.
After hearing the pitch, Renelli was instantly sold.
“It's a no-brainer — there are absolutely no negatives,” said Renelli of installing the ramp. “To be able to make your business more accessible to the population, why wouldn't you do that?”
StopGap ramps are visually striking thanks to their bright primary colour paint job. Renelli chose green for her ramp because it represents freshness, something Salute is always striving for in their products, she said.
For Nadine Law and her team of StopGap volunteers, the installation of the first downtown ramp was an emotional moment — one that they hope to repeat many more times throughout the neighbourhood.
“This is very exciting,” said Law. “To see people's reactions and the gentlemen who was passing by — seeing him use the ramp for the first time, it's very special.”
For more information, visit StopGap.ca.
