Chipotle, Takao, Baby Blues-Bar-B-Q Chains Accused in ADA Lawsuits

Three restaurant chains are facing allegations of failing to provide adequate access to customers in wheelchairs. 

California resident Brian Whitaker has filed three lawsuits each against Chipotle, Takao restaurant and Baby Blues Bar-B-Q with claims the stores were not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Whitaker became a quadriplegic after injuring his C-4 vertebrae along his spinal column and uses a wheelchair to get around, according to his complaint. 

When he tried to eat at Chipotle, Takao and Baby Blues-Bar-B-Q, he was unable to use any of the tables because they didn’t have enough clearance for customers in wheelchairs, he said in the three separate lawsuits. 

Specifically, and at each restaurant, there wasn’t enough knee and toe clearance for wheelchair users. Whitaker reports feeling discomfort and difficulty from the lack of accommodating tables. 

Whitaker argues these barriers pertain to his disability and impede on his ability to enjoy the space the same way able-bodied people do and that “full and equal access” was denied.

These restaurants “have failed to maintain in working and useable conditions those features required to provide ready access to persons with disabilities,” the lawsuit stated.

Resolving the lack of wheelchair accessible tables is an easy and inexpensive fix, Whitaker added. He alleges there are other features of the restaurant’s dining services that are likely not in compliance.

Whitaker says in his complaints he intends to revisit the restaurants in the future to ensure compliance. 

The ADA, passed by Congress in 1990, allows plaintiffs to sue in order to have alleged barriers removed from every site of the business, regardless of whether they were actually visited, according to the lawsuits. 

If these restaurants fail to comply, Whitaker is seeking damages in the amount of $4,000 for each offense. 

Formally, the lawsuits are accusing the restaurants of violating the ADA and the California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. 

Do you or someone you know have a disability? Have you encountered any issues accessing these restaurants while using a wheelchair? Let us know in the comments below. 

Counsel representing the plaintiffs in these class action lawsuits are Russell Handy, Raymond Ballister, Jr., Dennis Price and Amanda Seabock of the Center for Disability Access. 

The Restaurant Americans with Disabilities Lawsuits are:

• Whitaker v.  Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-01370
• Whitaker v.  Takao Corporation, Case No. 2:21-cv-01371
• Whitaker v.  Mouallem, et al., Case No.  2:21-cv-01367

All three cases were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. 

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