Potbelly chain's ADA deal will lower counter heights

Nation's Restaurant News,  Dec 3, 2007  

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CHICAGO -- Quick-service chain Potbelly Sandwich Works has settled a lawsuit filed against it under the Americans with Disabilities Act by agreeing to lower the height of its ordering stations to make them more accessible to people in wheelchairs.

Privately owned Potbelly, which has 170 restaurants in 11 states, agreed to retrofit existing restaurants and build any new ones with lower counters. It also agreed to make at least 5 percent of its seating wheelchair-accessible and donate money to the Equal Rights Center, one of the plaintiffs.

Other plaintiffs were Rosemary Ciotti and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

The Equal Rights Center lauded Potbelly for setting a good example by removing barriers to people with disabilities.

Potbelly did not disclose estimates of the costs of the building modifications.

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