VOSENS

VOSENS



I stopped at the German bakery this morning on the way into work. I do this from time to time to get a couple of Kaisers or hard rolls to make a sandwich out of at lunch time. I do this once or twice a month. The place I go is not wheelchair accessible; the bakery is built in an older quasi-Victorian house with a number of steps going up to the building’s entrance. There is front window which opens out to the front of the building and I usually sit in front of the window waving my arms or throwing stuff at the window until I can get the attention of staff Many times I trap a customer going into the bakery and ask them to send an employee out to take my order. This always works.

In defense of the management of this little bakery they have tried to work with me. The owner has even gone so far as to placing a battery operated button device along the walk to the front door that, supposedly when pressed will notify the people on the inside that someone on the out side need assistance. A major problem is this bakery is very close to the homeless shelter and is on a path that many homeless and hobo types travel. So even when the bell is out the bell button either get stolen or destroyed. So I patiently wait and wave.

The city has recently targeted this part of downtown as a “bootstrap” renovation area. The bakery had been next to an abandoned theater and hotel which was raised last Fall. So for the first time I have been able to motor my chair to the back porch of the bakery where, I learned, the place the hot breads and rolls to cool. I was able to get of the bakers to let the “front help” know I was out in front and needed service. I rolled back to the front and soon Maxine was out to take my order. I had not seen ”Max” for the longest time. Maxine is maybe just a little older then I am—she is first generation German and is very nice. I learned that she has just returned to work following a medical leave. She had been gone ,maybe , six weeks. I has stopped in a couple of times got my rolls and thought I just had just missed Maxine. Maxine has spoiled me. When I asked for 2 Kaisers she would also send out something extra—at no charge: a German sweet roll of some sort, hot cross bun, huge crescent –something always very good.

I suppose Maxine is just one of those great people who are “out there”. She just treats everyone nice. Maybe she is treating me special so I will not launch an ADA complaint because I cannot enter the bakery like able bodied folks. If so it works I am not going to file a complaint besides there covered anyway and Vosen Bakery has done a reasonable accommodation—there could be a better solution but they will not get a complaint from me. This morning when I got to work, had brewed coffee and finally transferred to my manual wheelchair not only the two Kaisers as requested but also two other kinds of hard rolls and two huge sweet rolls. I shared with the office. Welcome back Max and thanks for everything!