World peace? Not in our lifetime. World hunger? If only. World coffee? Now that is something that is well within our grasp. Starbucks has rolled out new, “inclusive” store designs that accommodate people with disabilities.

You can see the first of these stores the next time you are in D. C. Just head to 331 N Street NE and enjoy the most accessible cup of Joe you have ever had. These new stores are catering to a wide variety of disability types. It won’t solve every problem. But it is a good beginning. This is how NBC reported the changes:

DIGITAL DISPLAYS SHOWING VISUAL UPDATES ON THE STATUS OF ORDERS; ACOUSTIC CHANGES TO REDUCE BACKGROUND NOISE AND MORE ROOM AROUND ENTRYWAYS ARE SOME OF THE NEW FEATURES CUSTOMERS MAY NOTICE, STARBUCKS SAID.

LOWER COUNTERTOPS WILL ALSO BE BETTER ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE WHO USE WHEELCHAIRS, AND A NEW POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM WILL HAVE UPGRADED ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES, STARBUCKS SAID.

Starbucks wants to make it clear that this is not just a one and done stunt. Katie Young, senior vice president of store operations included the following in her statement:

MOVING FORWARD, ALL NEW AND RENOVATED STARBUCKS STORES IN THE U.S. WILL LEVERAGE THE INCLUSIVE SPACES FRAMEWORK.

One interesting note is that this new initiative was specifically called out for US locations. Accessibility should not be considered a luxury for a single country. There is no word as of yet about any plans to roll these changes out worldwide. Even so, this is still an important step to what might come next. World peace? Maybe.

David Johnson