The foodie scene in Park City is growing, seamlessly blending the region’s signature ingredients—rustic and luxury—and is arguably its second most renowned attribute, behind skiing and other recreation. Feasting options range from farm-to-table fine dining to creative international fusion, laidback breweries, and healthy twists on American staples.

A Palette of Inclusivity

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Madison Baumann and Hailey Griffin are two people gave me a new perspective on dining. Madison lost her vision at 11 and moved to Park City in 2018 to work as the reservations manager at the National Ability Center. Hailey is a wheelchair user and a mono skier who trains with the National Ability Center’s High-Performance competition team (with ambitions of joining the U.S. Paralympic team). Both women offered valuable insights and specific requirements for a pleasant dining experience.

Hailey talks accessibility in Park City with a friend at The Boneyard in Park City!

“I'm completely blind in my left eye, and I only have about 20% in my right eye,” Madison describes her visual impairment. “When restaurants have the menu on the wall, I can't see it. So having handheld menus is really nice.” Madison typically researches the menu before arriving at the restaurant and brings a magnifying glass and flashlight to help with ordering. However, she counts on restaurant staff to be transparent about fees in the fine print. “I went to one restaurant, and we split our check… In tiny letters at the bottom of the menu, it says, ‘We will add a 20% service fee for any split checks’… Adding those extra fees and not saying anything assumes you can read this tiny fine print.”

Ambiance is Key

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Attention to audible comfort is another key component of a positive dining experience for Madison. “The only part of my senses that fully works is my ears… So, I try to take care of them.” Madison describes how it’s easier and more enjoyable for her to have meaningful conversations when the music and background noise are at reasonable decibels.

Wide spaces between tables makes navigating between easier! Photo: Twisted Fern

Maximizing Space

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Madison and Hailey agree that reachable bathrooms are the most crucial requirement. “Sometimes when you go to a restaurant, the hallway by the bathroom is where they keep extra chairs, highchairs, tables, or there's a bunch of clutter in those hallways,” Madison illustrates how restaurant staff can consider disabled patrons by keeping hallways around bathrooms free to excess. “There was a handicap sign on the bathrooms, but you couldn't reach them because tables and highchairs were in the way,” shared Hailey.

A crowded restaurant is another deterrent. “It's nice when I go to a restaurant, and I'm able to navigate around without being worried that I'm going to bash into or trip over something,” Madison describes. Hailey agreed, “If the tables are close together, sometimes I won’t even try.”

How to Find Accessible Restaurants

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Both women encourage research and calling ahead to ensure enjoyable dining. Before trying a restaurant for the first time, Madison typically looks for the accessibility symbol on Google Maps.

The next step takes courage - “Feeling brave enough to say, ‘I have a disability. Can you please help me with this? Or my friend has a disability. Can you please support us when we come in?’ I think that's the key,” Madison informs. Hailey shares some pointed perspectives about asking prompting questions. “Call ahead… Ask if there are stairs, the width of the doorways, what the bathroom looks like, what’s the trail to get there, and how far away the bathroom is from the tables.”

Hailey also suggests utilizing apps like Roll Mobility or Where to Wheel to gain insight into accessibility from other wheelchair users.

Restaurants in Park City have contact information and some accessibility details on www.Visitparkcity.com. We encourage our Partners to update their listings to include accessibility features of their establishment. Other tools like Google My Business listings can include accessibility information!

Hailey describes how restaurant layouts and strategically chosen furniture can increase accessibility. She informs that while it’s fine for a restaurant to have high tops, it’s also essential to have low tables that are friendly for wheelchair users.

Hailey and Madison's Favorite Accessible Restaurants

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Hailey

  • Twisted Fern
    • 1300 Snow Creek Dr Suite RS
    • The large font on the print menu makes it easier to read. The restaurant is spacious, comfortable, and well-lit. She doesn’t need a magnifier or flashlight to read the menu. The quiet music makes it easy for her to have a conversation. The employees are accommodating and kind. The seasonal menu features fresh ingredients, and the chefs create memorable dishes for every dining experience.
  • Tekila Mexican Grill and Cantina
    • 255 Main St
    • Even though this restaurant is upstairs, there is elevator access. The floor plan is spacious and easy to maneuver. The music is at a reasonable volume, so she can easily enjoy conversations over a meal. Expect excellent customer service and delicious food. 
  • Top of Main Brew Pub in Park City
    • 250 Main St
    • The open floor plan makes navigating and moving around the restaurant easy. She appreciates that sports are always on TV. She enjoys the atmosphere and the friendly and attentive demeanor of the waitstaff and bartenders—it’s a space where she feels especially valued as a local.  

Madison

  • Alberto’s
    • 1640 Bonanza Dr
    • This restaurant offers quickly prepared high-quality dishes, with a drive-through option. “I like going to Alberto's,” Hailey explains. “Because then I don't have to drag my chair out. I get the food from my car."
  • Boneyard Saloon & Kitchen
    • 1251 Kearns Blvd
    • There is a large, flat parking area with handicapped parking stalls. Most of the tables are high tops, which she can access. However, a wheelchair-accessible table is reserved for people with disabilities who are less mobile than Hailey. She appreciates the delicious and quality food at an approachable price point.
  • Vessel Kitchen
    • 1784 Uinta Way E1
    • There is plenty of parking around the restaurant, and the parking area is flat and easy to navigate in a wheelchair. The dining area is spacious, and the tables are wheelchair-accessible height. She likes the ordering system: Choose entrées, apps, and sides while moving through the line, pay at the counter, and then an associate delivers the meal to the table.

An Accessible Dining Experience

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Not surprisingly, food quality and customer service must be on par with accessible considerations. “One of my favorite restaurants in Park City is the Twisted Fern,” Madison describes. “It's comfortable. They're super accommodating. And they have a menu I can read without using the magnifier on my phone… The food is always delicious. It’s a good atmosphere. They don’t play loud music, so it's easy to have conversations.”

Considering Madison’s suggestion for a favorite restaurant, I embarked on a dining journey to Twisted Fern. My ambition was to experience a restaurant with a fresh lens of what accessible dining looks like. Even before entering the eatery, it’s easy to understand why Twisted Fern is Madison’s favorite. The level parking lot includes ample spaces, and the wide entrance, waiting area, and well-spaced tables accommodate diners with mobility equipment.

Subtle details like colorful wallpaper and quirky lighting create a soft ambiance that’s not too dark for reading the menu. Ample room around the tables makes maneuvering with a wheelchair or cane easy, and most tables are standard height. The spaciousness combines with soft music to create a tranquil environment for conversation. The accessible accommodations did not mean a compromise in food quality. The attentive waitstaff delivered sensational dishes bursting with bold seasonal flavors and a riot of colors.

The private restrooms continued the subtle elegance of the restaurant interior and were large enough for a wheelchair. Glancing a couple of highchairs in the hallway to the bathroom, I recalled something Hailey mentioned, “For me, it’s how the people there deal with it all. If it’s inaccessible and they make an effort to improve things, then that's at least something.” Maybe the bold and brave move of calling ahead to let the waitstaff know the best ways to accommodate a disabled person is genuinely Mountainkind— an opportunity for subtle education to be met with effort and compassion.