The landlord of a pub in Sheffield responded incredibly to a family who asked if they could bring their disabled son into her pub.
Landlord Steph Tate reached out on Facebook after the parents of a disabled child asked her permission to bring their son into The Barrel Chapeltown pub in Sheffield.
Steph was confused as to why the parents asked permission in the first place, but the father of the boy was apparently concerned because his son uses a wheelchair, and sometimes makes noise and flails his arms.
Some inconsiderate people have made comments about the boy’s behaviour in the past, making his parents conscious of the settings in which they attend as a family.
The fact that the parents felt the need to ask Steph’s permission for their son to come in the pub bothered Steph; ‘it played on [her] mind all night’. She wanted to make it clear that anyone could visit The Barrel, Chapeltown.
Steph posted about the situation to Facebook, and emphasised ‘everyone is welcome in my pub’.
Steph explained what had happened with the father, and described the lengths staff in her establishment would go to in order to make everyone comfortable and welcome.
She wrote:
It broke my heart that a parent felt they needed to ask if it was ok for his child to be here just like anyone else.
Whether you need us to get you extension leads to plug specialist equipment in, help moving tables/chairs for wheelchairs or any other help you may need, everyone is welcome in my pub and help will always be offered by all of my staff.
Steph toldi News that her pub offers accessible ramps and braille bingo cards as part of her attempts to include everyone.
As for anyone who might make a negative comment about fellow pub-goers, Steph assured everyone that kind of behaviour would not be tolerated, writing:
If you’re sat at home with a disabled child, partner or friend and feel on edge about taking them anywhere due to fear of someone making comments please feel free to bring them here. If I find anyone making negative comments or being disrespectful they will be asked to leave not you.
Steph also toldi about some of the other people she has welcomed into the pub.
She said:
There is a family who come in here with a little boy who needs help with breathing and has [specialist equipment] plugged in so we make sure there’s an area for them to do what they need to do.
The benefit of this pub is that there’s a ramp outside for prams and wheelchairs and a disabled toilet so it’s quite accommodating,
Steph’s post received a lot of thankful and positive comments, with some parents explaining their situations and saying that seeing Steph’s post and brightened their day.
One commenter wrote:
Well done The Barrel Chapeltown. We have a disabled 10 year old daughter who is in a wheelchair. We take her with us wherever we go as she is an equal part of our family. Lilia can be exremly noisy at times and apart from a few strange looks sometimes as we bump into every table and chair we never really get any negativity but I know it’s not the same for everyone. We are all equal and deserve the same respect. This has brightened my day thank you.
I certainly know what pub I’m heading to the next time I’m in South Yorkshire!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.