Sign Language Coffee Bar | Order in sign language
Sign language coffee bar in Amsterdam
On the 19th of October the Sign Language Coffee Bar opens its doors at the Amsteldijk in Amsterdam. It is the first Dutch coffee bar where only deaf barista’s work and where you have to place your order in sign language.
Order in sign language
Visitors who do not control sign language can use a screen with short, silent video clips in the coffee bar. These will teach you how to order an espresso or cappuccino in sign language in seconds. The movies, thirty in total, including the gestures for ordering a brownie, a croissant and also for: ‘I want to take out my order’ and: ‘See you tomorrow!’ – can also be viewed on the website of the Sign Language Coffee Bar.
In 2016 we spotted the Berjaya Starbucks Coffee Company Sdn. Bhd. (‘Starbucks Malaysia’) whom in collaboration with The Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (SID), opened a Starbucks Coffee bar dedicated to providing employment opportunities for deaf partners (employees). And in 2014 we spotted a restaurant called “Signs” in Toronto, that’s staffed entirely with deaf waiters, a first for Canada.
Barista training
Eight deaf people have been trained as baristas the past few weeks at coffee maker Bocca Coffee in Amsterdam. They’re all specialists in handling the espresso machine and preparing all kinds of coffee specialties. The coffee bar is open daily until 4 p.m. Opening hours during the week are from 08:30 a.m. and in the weekends from 10:00 a.m.
Sustainable jobs
The Sign Language Coffee Bar is part of a group of companies (Ctaste restaurant, Cthecity Experience Center and Ctalents Workforce), which have been helping people with visual or auditory restrictions to find jobs, for ten years now. At Ctaste, where guests dine in the dark, fourteen blind waiters take care of the service. Ctalents placed dozens of advisors at the Dutch ABN AMRO bank, who explain in sign language all about mortgages and investments to people with hearing restrictions. In total, more than 150 deaf (40%) and blind (60%) were helped to sustainable jobs. 90% of them were still working after one year. The Sign Language Coffee Bar is supported by Ctaste Nederland, the social investor Start Foundation and the Van Oord family.
Website: The Sign Language Coffee Bar
