An Oregon cafe that orders food in sign language has become a cherished space in the deaf community, providing a unique gathering place and employment opportunities for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
American Sign Language (ASL) is the primary language spoken at Portland’s Woodstock Cafe, The Oregonian/OregonLive reports. Non-ASL speakers can use the microphone to have their commands transcribed onto the screen.
Andre Gray, who helped open the cafe, told the news outlet in sign language that people moved from all over the country to work at the cafe because it was difficult for people who were deaf or hard of hearing to find jobs.
“So the cafe became their place of stability. It was their rock,” he said.
The cafe is owned by CymaSpace, a nonprofit dedicated to making the arts accessible to the deaf community, and it also hosts weekly ASL meetups and game nights. Tuesday’s Sign Language Squad is a popular event, attracting people like Zach Salisbury, who was born with a rare genetic disorder that caused progressive hearing and vision loss and used cochlear implants, and Amy Wachspress, who started learning sign language after losing her hearing nine years ago.
Attendees had a variety of hearing ranges, from deaf people signing with students taking introductory sign language classes to people hard of hearing who read lips and communicated with spoken words and gestures.
“What I love about it is that there are so many different people attending,” said Wachspress, who classifies herself as hearing-impaired and communicates primarily by lip-reading. “It’s so eclectic…just a lot of different types of people from different backgrounds. The one thing we all have in common is our signature.”
Wachspress likes to tell the story of a deaf toddler whose parents, both hearing children, wanted him to be immersed in Deaf culture. When they took him to the cafe, he was happy to see other people signing.
“He was so excited when he realized he could use sign language to communicate with people,” she said. “We were all touched. … This is what happened in the cafe.”
Gray, who helped open the cafe, said there were plans to acquire an adjacent vacant building to build a deaf equity center, but much of the funding was cut as the presidential administration changed. However, CymaSpace hopes to find funding from private organizations and future crowdsourcing campaigns.
“It empowers the community rather than being afraid to sign. We, as a community, are proud of who we are,” he said.