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Woman Says White Castle Discriminates, Makes Her 'Madder Than Fish Grease

by Caleb Johnson on June 16, 2009 at 10:26 AM


Late one night, a woman rolled up to a White Castle drive-through in St. Paul, Minnesota on her mobility scooter. No, this is not the beginning of a joke, and she was not reenacting a scene from a recent stoner flick. Ariel Wade just wanted some burgers. And since the lobby was closed, Wade, who suffers from degenerative arthritis in her back, had no choice but to roll up on her blue scooter.

Since only licensed motor vehicles are allowed in drive-thrus, Wade was promptly refused service. Without a sack of burgers in hand, she left the establishment "madder than fish grease" (she's originally from New Orleans), according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Of course, Wade is crying foul. She says the White Castle must provide access for disabled folks 24-hours-a-day (since those are its hours), not just when the restaurant lobby is open. A White Castle district manager apologized to Wade the next day, offering free burgers, and the restaurant told the Star-Tribune its drive-through rules are in place for safety reasons, not to discriminate against folks who do not or cannot drive. Rebuking the burger chain's greasy olive branch, Wade contacted the Minnesota Disability Law Center, which is considering taking up her case.

All jokes aside, we are all for equal-access for folks with disabilities. From the looks of this case, though, it seems to us that White Castle's drive-through rule really is about safety. At the same time, though, if it's permissible for Ms. Wade to navigate the establishment's parking lot in her scooter, shouldn't it be permissible for her to navigate the drive-through? Since there doesn't seem to be a precedent for the case, we don't feel all that bad about not being able to make our minds up on the matter. Whatever occurs, with Ms. Wade in attendance, it should be an interesting courtroom. We just wonder if Harold or Kumar will be called to testify. [From: Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

Tags: accessibility, disability, disabled, lawsuit, minnesota, scooter, white castle, WhiteCastle

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