Applebee's

Applebee's is a friend to individuals with disabilities

Recently, an e-mail containing inaccurate information has been circulating across the Internet regarding reports that the Applebee's restaurant in Lakewood, NY, had made some disparaging comments about people with disabling conditions. According to the e-mail, Applebee's had contacted my organization, The Resource Center, and requested that we no longer bring people with disabilities.

The e-mail's writers defended people with disabilities in general and The Resource Center in particular. The Resource Center is the largest not-for-profit agency serving people with disabilities in Chautauqua County, NY, supporting thousands of people with disabling conditions to lead fuller, more complete lives.

The originators of the e-mail message, though well-intentioned in their support for people with disabilities and The Resource Center, were given incorrect information. To set things straight, we can assure you that no one from Applebee's contacted us and requested that we no longer bring people with disabilities to their restaurant. In fact, The Resource Center has an excellent working relationship with Applebee's. Consider:

The Applebee's in question, located in Lakewood, NY, has over the years hired a number of people with disabilities through our Supported Employment Program; currently, six people with disabilities from our program work there, while two more people from our Employment Program work at the Applebee's location in the northern part of our county. Applebee's has been a great community partner, giving people with disabilities the opportunity to feel the pride and satisfaction that come from earning real wages by performing meaningful work, and thereby becoming contributing, tax-paying members of society.

Our two local Applebee's restaurants received the Employer of the Year Award at Chautauqua County's 2006 Disability Awareness Awards Celebration for their efforts in supporting people with disabilities to find and maintain work. Managers of the local Applebee's locations will contact our Employment Program when they have a job opening to see if we have anyone who would like to work at the restaurant. Upon hiring people with disabilities, Applebee's works with us and the employees to make sure the disabled workers are given any assistance they need in order to be successful on the job. This includes providing specialized training or making accommodations that are tailored to each employee.

One of the people with disabilities who works at the Lakewood Applebee's lives several miles from the restaurant. He does not drive a car; he is shy, so he usually declines offers of a ride from co-workers and instead walks to and from work. Last summer, his co-workers took it upon themselves to donate their own money and purchase a bicycle, helmet and related accessories for this man, and surprised him with the gifts on his birthday. He was truly touched, saying he had not owned a bicycle since he was a boy.

Alan Nichols (front row, wearing cap) poses with some of his co-workers at the Applebee's in Lakewood.

Do these sound like the actions of a company that does not want persons with disabilities to patronize its business?

As the original e-mail has spread like wildfire across the Internet, Applebee's has received reports from people expressing outrage at the alleged mistreatment of people with disabilities and threatening to discontinue patronizing the restaurant. While we are grateful that so many people have stood up to defend the rights of individuals with disabilities, we want to again emphasize that Applebee's did NOT try to keep people with disabilities from visiting its restaurants. On the contrary, Applebee's has been a champion of persons with disabling conditions.

We are devastated that Applebee's is receiving unwarranted bad publicity. We would encourage anyone who passed along the original e-mail to in turn pass along this correction, so that, hopefully, we can undo some of the damage that has been done.

Thank you,

Paul Cesana, Executive Director

The Resource Center