Access to Calgary beer: One brewery’s path to inclusivity
When most people walk into a Calgary craft brew hotspot, they aren’t thinking of how accessible it is to others. Sean Crump is.
source LIVEWIRE CALGARY
by Darren Krause
May 2019
Sean Crump, Head Chair and CEO of Universal Access, a Calgary company that specializes in eliminating barriers to business accessibility, said he’ll personally take his (beer) business elsewhere if he doesn’t feel a location can meet his needs. Others he meets feel the same way about accessibility into Calgary businesses.
Quite often, people don’t say anything about it. They just don’t frequent those locations.
“If I went there one time, or I was somebody that had a little anxiety in crowded spaces or wasn’t comfortable asking people to move out of the way, I wouldn’t go back,” he said.
“Because who wants to disrupt everybody? Who wants to become the focal point? And the problem is, coming into a bar, you already feel like the focal point.”
He said each time have to ask people to accommodate you it amplifies an already uncomfortable situation.
Crump is himself a quadriplegic. He broke his neck 15 years ago in a swimming mishap while out camping with friends. With limited upper body use, he operates a motorized wheelchair, so it’s essential for businesses to have an accessible entrance. He needs places where his chair fits and suitable space for him to get to the washroom.
Photo credit DARREN KRAUSE / LIVEWIRE CALGARY S
Sean Crump, CEO of Universal Access, worked with The Dandy Brewing Company in Calgary to improve overall accessibility.
FIrst meeting with The Dandy Brewing Company
When he first met up with Ben Leon, co-owner and managing director of The Dandy Brewing Company in Calgary, there was a step up to get into their old brewery. There was no cut out to the sidewalk to wheel up to the front. He had to be dropped off in the grass, but snow first needed to be removed to make a pathway – to the sidewalk.
