True story - I was sitting at my computer this morning when a Facebook status popped up from friend and Nuvo Newsweekly film critic Ed Johnson-Ott.
Ed has become increasingly open about the fact that he is living with Parkinson's Disease, an incurable disease that may be dramatically impacting his body yet hasn't begun to impact his impeccable spirit, relentless creativity, and remarkable passion for life.
The status message let us know that the previous night he'd visited Mass Ave Pub, a downtown Indy establishment within walking distance of his apartment. While he's not always physically up to it, last night he and his son got out of the apartment and headed over to this fine place for dinner.
As anyone who has experienced Parkinson's knows, it impacts the body in a wide variety of ways including, at times, a persistent shakiness that can impact fine motor skills.Last night, Ed's server, whom we would later learn was Jess, noticed that Ed was having difficulty cutting up his meal. In a respectful way, she came up to him and offered to take his plate for a minute nothing that she would cut it up for him and return it. Ed graciously thanked her and moments later she returned with a cut up meal that had still been arranged so it looked appetizing. Ed would learn that she recognized the shakiness because Parkinson's had touched a loved one's life and she openly stated "I always feel good when I see people with shaky hands eating out. Too many people with Parkinson's stay at home to eat and I think it's sad for people to feel like they need to hide from the world."
Within an hour of reading Ed's status message, which would eventually reach the pub's owner, I wheeled myself into Mass Ave Pub for my first ever visit. As a diner in a wheelchair, I will always - 100% - embrace those establishments that go out of the way to welcome my business or the business of others with disabilities or health challenges.
Does Ed's experience impact my rating? You betcha. It does. I'm absolutely, 100% unashamed to acknowledge that the experience I had, likely in the comfortably 4-star range, is being bumped up to a 5-star experience because the weaving together of the two add up to Mass Ave Pub becoming a place where I find myself asking "Why have I never come here?"
It's partly, to be honest, because I despise paying for parking. There's a couple disabled parking spots within probably 25-50 feet of the pub and directly in front of the neighboring Thai restaurant. The curb cut is present. While Mass Avenue is famously hit-and-miss in terms of access, especially true on this block, I appreciated that the pub has actually placed a small concrete ramp at their door - it's not ADA compliant, but it's not steep and you should be able to hold yourself on the ramp and open their door.
As you enter, you see 3 rows of tables, the actual bar, and an area to the left that appears to be used for darts and a digital jukebox set-up. The interior is nicely decorated and there's quite a few options for wheelchair users. My server, a male whose name I never caught, was quite helpful and one other employee moved the chair at the table to give me more room when I'd moved it gently to the side.
I took a table near the back, though the early lunch hour during which I arrived meant the place was only modestly busy. As has been noted, the bar mostly serves typical bar food that is reasonably priced. Mass Ave Pub gives off a true "neighborhood bar" feel - far less pretentious than some of the overpriced bars on the avenue and a lot more casual in terms of food, dress and service. You will be treated well here, though you may not necessarily be "catered" to.
I kept things simple today - I ordered a build-your-own burger - plan, medium-well, and on a kaiser bun. I ordered my usual iced tea. While the burger comes with chips (Ruffles, to be precise), you can upgrade for a small charge to fries - $1.25 for steak fries. Yum. The burger is an 8 oz. slab o' beef and definitely not skimpy. Even with my upcharge, I ate for just under $10.
Seriously. A meal for less than a ten spot on Mass Avenue.
I got my always desired refill and service that was attentive without ever being intrusive. On my way out, the server grabbed the door. While not necessary, it was appreciated.
To be honest, I can barely think about Ed's experience without shedding a tear. If you have a disability, especially one that impacts motor skills (as I do), you've been looked at, stared at, laughed at, and you've gotten the death stare if you dare get a little sloppy. MOST people are wonderful, but trust me - the opposite happens.
While I wasn't having such a day today, there's something special about having those places you can identify where you can go, relax, enjoy a meal and, maybe most importantly, be yourself.
I can't believe I haven't been here before now, but I'll tell you straight up that I can't wait to go back. read more