Juliet England: First ‘signing Starbucks’ now open in Washington DC

Coffee shops and similar places often throw up considerable barriers to communication for deaf customers.

Now coffee chain giant Starbucks has just opened the doors of a ‘signing store’ on busy H Street North, a few blocks from the prestigious, long-established deaf and hard of hearing university Gallaudet in Washington DC.

All 24 team members who work there must be able to use American Sign Language (ASL) to a reasonable standard, but the branch celebrates deaf culture in numerous other ways as well.

Unique in North America, the launch of the signing store, converted from a regular Starbucks café, follows the opening of a similar Starbucks outlet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a couple of years ago. (Now the chain is reported to be eyeing up other potential locations for similar branches elsewhere.)

The location was chosen because of its closeness to Gallaudet, and because of Washington’s links with activism on behalf of deaf people.

The difference is noticeable even from the outside – where Starbucks is fingerspelt below the main logo and on table umbrellas.

A large, multi-coloured sign language-inspired mural, designed by an artist who’s deaf and a member of Gallaudet, adorns one of the shop’s walls.

Covering a whole wall, the mural shows a lower case ‘d’ to represent deafness, and an upper case one standing for deaf identity. There’s also an eye to recognise the importance of visual connections, a hand bearing a cup of coffee and other symbols representing a blending of deaf and hearing cultures.

The coffee shop also has a ‘DeafSpace’ area specifically for deaf and hard of hearing visitors.

A deaf supplier created deaf staff members’ aprons, embroidered with the Starbucks name in ASL. Hearing employees have regulation branded green aprons with a pin saying ‘I sign’.

Of course, you don’t have to be deaf to use the store. Customers who don’t know sign language can learn to sign for their favourite beverage, while digital notepads are also used for non-ASL users. Those who can’t sign are encouraged to use visual clues in communication too.

In most Starbucks branches, you wait until your name is called at the end of the bar. In this one, a screen displays the names of customers whose orders are ready. (Apparently some hearing customers took a little while to get used to that one.)

Essentially, the aim is for the hearing community to work out how to communicate with deaf baristas, rather than the other way around.

The design of the branch is also aimed at maximising light and lines of sight so that, for example, there are no tall tables or high stacks of cups getting in the way when people sign to one another.

Even the mugs have been customised. They’re the work of deaf artist Jena Floyd, and depict hands signing the words ‘Coffee brings us together’.

At the same time, the branch aims to challenge the notion that deaf employees can never be promoted to managerial positions. A report in one newspaper explained how one deaf barista, Kylie Garcia, had recently been made a shift supervisor. She told the Washington Post that in a previous role with the company, based at a coffee kiosk in a major retailer, she just made drink, and had very limited interaction with colleagues and customers. In the H Street coffee shop, things are very different.

It’s hard not to feel cheered at the launch of this concept – Twitter went into meltdown, and the project won praise from Gallaudet and others, including, in the UK the British Deaf Association.

Gallaudet’s president, Roberta Cordano, told journalists: “Besides creating a fully accessible environment for the deaf community, this new store creates employment and advancement opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing people, as baristas, store managers, and in other roles.”

Clearly, as well as creating jobs for deaf people, this Starbucks is educating those who can hear, all while serving up a mean skinny latte to go.

What’s more, the chain is a pretty powerful and influential brand, so it’s good to see them embracing all things deaf related, even if it’s not the name most readily associated, shall we say, with full payment of corporation tax.

So it’s perhaps churlish to mention that some have questioned why sign language shouldn’t be taught in all the chain’s branches, or pondered whether such stores actually ghettoise or segregate the deaf community.

It’s also, surely, more than a little ironic that, back in 2015, a former Starbucks barista from Arizona filed a lawsuit against the corporation for alleged discrimination against her because of her deafness.

But with so many people so excited to see the signing store open its doors, perhaps overall it should be celebrated as at least a step in the right direction, and one that deserves to do well, rather than criticised.

How would you feel if a coffee shop like this was opened in the UK?

Read more of Juliet’s articles for us here.

Juliet England does freelance social media and PR work for cSeeker.