CW: Ableism
Public businesses are supposed to be accessible to everyone. That includes restaurants, shopping malls, parks, movie theaters, schools and sports venues. Places that are open to the public are generally viewed as spaces open to everyone. But for disabled people, public places are not always what they seem.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to businesses and other places that are open to the public. Restaurants, theaters, stores, schools, and other public spaces have a duty to provide equal access for disabled people. This is important because accessibility is not just about ramps and entrances, it is about ensuring that disabled people can access a space.
I saw a video on social media recently of a family at Texas Roadhouse, trying to have dinner with their disabled child. They walked in, hoping for what any family would hope for: to sit down, have a meal and be together. Rather, they were told that their daughter’s stroller, which she uses because of her cerebral palsy, couldn’t be accommodated.
And then came the sentence disabled people hear far too often: “Call ahead next time to make sure ADA-friendly seating is available.” The family was treated as if the restaurant’s inaccessibility was their fault.
As someone with cerebral palsy, I am all too familiar with calling ahead. I’ve learned to ask whether a place has stairs, whether the aisles are wide enough, and whether there is a ramp or a working lift. I’ve adapted to it, but I wish I didn’t have to.
Someone without disabilities can enter a restaurant, a store, a theater, a park, a school or a stadium, and they are usually able to participate. People like me are often expected to explain our presence in public. This expectation can be devastating.
In 2024, a wheelchair basketball team was denied service at a restaurant because employees claimed the children’s wheelchairs would be a fire hazard. Instead, they were asked to leave. Ultimately, the restaurant had to give the families hundreds of thousands of dollars and improve its policies and training.
The ADA was passed to help ensure that this sort of exclusion does not occur. Under Title III, restaurants and other public businesses are supposed to offer full and equal access to everyone. The law goes beyond ramps or doorways. It’s about the experience of entering and using a space. Accessibility should be part of the overall experience in a public place, not an afterthought.
Inaccessibility is everywhere. It’s in stores where aisles are too narrow. It’s in theaters where “accessible seating” means isolation, and in schools where disabled children and adults are expected to adapt to environments that weren’t built for them, and in workplaces where accessibility is treated as an afterthought. Instead of public places being accessible, disabled people are often told to call ahead, bring different equipment, come at a different time, use a different entrance, sit somewhere else, or come back another day.
Politicians and public figures like Senator Tammy Duckworth are also familiar with this issue. She took her daughters to see the movie Barbie in 2023. Duckworth uses a wheelchair, and the theater’s only elevator was not working. She had to remain outside while her daughters went inside to watch the movie.
Even if you think you are prepared, things can still go awry. In Maryland, a group of disabled students went on a field trip to Cracker Barrel. The group had reportedly contacted the restaurant beforehand. However, when they arrived, they were refused service.
Accessibility isn’t just about ramps or doorways. It’s about what happens when you get inside. An entrance might be accessible, but that doesn’t matter if disabled people aren’t treated with respect and dignity once they get inside. Public spaces aren’t accessible to everyone until disabled people can get in easily, participate fully, and be treated with dignity and respect.
Sources:
Lloyd, Olivia. “Restaurant Said Youth Wheelchair Basketball Team Was Fire Hazard, Feds Say. It Owes.” The Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2024, https://amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article290585999.html.
Lamour, Joseph. “Cracker Barrel Protest Planned after It Refused Service to Students with Disabilities.” TODAY, NBCUniversal, 10 Dec. 2024, http://www.today.com/today/amp/rcna183465.
Luterman, Sara. “Sen. Duckworth Took Her Daughters to See ‘Barbie.’ Because She Uses a Wheelchair, She Had to Wait Outside.” The 19th, 31 July 2023, https://19thnews.org/2023/07/senator-duckworth-missed-barbie-movie-inaccessible-theater/.
“Texas Roadhouse and Disability Accessibility.” Instagram, @trieu_or_false, 10 Aug. 2026, https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db4Utr_pwTi/.
“What Is Title III?” ADA National Network, https://adata.org/what-title-iii/. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.