Red Robin is the First Restaurant to EVER Give This Blind 18-Year-Old a Braille Menu. She Reacts Oh So Appropriately

Credit: Alyssa Herrera via Twitter
Credit: Alyssa Herrera via Twitter
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While many people take the simple luxury of ordering food for granted, a blind teen in Ohio experienced it for the first time after she was offered a Braille menu at a local Red Robin restaurant.

On Monday, 17-year-old Annalicia Herrera’s life changed when went out for dinner with her brother, sister and grandmother in Grove City and was given her very own menu to read for the first time, Buzzfeed reported.

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When the family dines out, they typically read the menu out to Annalicia, her 16-year-old sister, Alyssa Herrera, said.

“She just orders chicken and fries,” Alyssa told Buzzfeed.

Credit: Alyssa Herrera via Buzzfeed

When the family arrived at Red Robin, they were “surprised” when the hostess asked if Annalicia would like a menu in Braille, which Annalicia uses to study at the Ohio State School of the Blind.

The simple gesture was enough to inspire Annalicia to explore something other than her typical dinner fare.

“My first thought was, ‘Let me see what they have!’” she said. “…I was like, ‘What should I order now?’”

After perusing through the menu, she ordered the teriyaki chicken burger and fries.

Alyssa, excited about her sister’s newest accomplishment, decided to share the shining moment on Twitter with a photo of her using her hands to read the menu.

“I was excited that she was able to read her menu and order her own food,” Alyssa said of her sister, who turns 18 in April.

The tweet struck a chord with the social media world and quickly went viral, with thousands of people commenting on Annslicia’s momentous accomplishment and expressing support for the blind community.

Annalicia said she’d never experienced the kind of “attention” her sister’s tweet attracted, adding that she hopes more restaurants making similar accommodations for the blind. She plans on exploring more foods at restaurants in the future.

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A Red Robin spokesperson told Buzzfeed in a statement that he takes pride making the Herrera family’s dining experience more personal.

“Attentive hospitality and personal connections are in our DNA. Red Robin takes great pride in our team members’ ability to go above and beyond to create memorable experiences for Guests like Annalicia,” Jonathan Muhtar, Red Robin’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Red Robin’s commitment to living our core B.U.R.G.E.R. Values ensures that our Guests and team members alike are better for being here.”

(H/T: Buzzfeed)

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