A barista with disability makes coffee at Regen Cafe in Jeonju on April 18, 2023. (Yonhap)
JEONJU, April 19 (Korea Bizwire) – It was Tuesday, two days ahead of the Day of People with Disability, when Regen Cafe, located in the southwestern city of Jeonju, was spotlighted for its disability-friendly environment.
The cafe is run by four baristas with disabilities who use a two-way kiosk to receive orders. Next to the ordering panel is a menu written in Braille.
The cafe was set up by a cooperative established by Kim Hyeon-jun and his colleagues to hire people with disabilities as baristas and help them earn a livelihood.
“We opened the cafe, thinking that it would be great to provide jobs to women with disabilities who are particularly vulnerable in the job market because of physical limitations,” Kim said.
The baristas work morning or afternoon shifts in teams of two, making coffee for customers. When the baristas struggle to respond quickly to customer needs, Kim and his job instructors come to assist with their work.
Regen Cafe’s Augmentative and Alternative Communication menu
Regen Cafe cares about the accessibility of the coffee shop. In addition to the Braille menus, the cafe has also created Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)-based menus using pictures.
The AAC menu replaces the word “Ice Americano” with pictures of coffee beans and ice cubes and “Caramel Macchiato” with pictures of coffee beans and caramel.
Regen Cafe started off as a “barrier-free” cafe and is now moving towards incorporating universal design.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
