Bisbano's becoming more accessible

Bisbano's Pizza Parlor recently became more accessible to those with physical disabilities.

Two handicapped parking spaces and a ramp to the front door of the building now allow those in wheelchairs to enter the restaurant and late-night music venue. Once inside, however, a person who uses a wheelchair will still find no accessible restroom facility to use.

"At this point, it would be major construction to construct the bathrooms," says George Petro, the restaurant's owner. "It would involve taking down load-bearing walls, so at this time, I have no plans to construct the bathrooms."

Bisbano's recently came under scrutiny for its inaccessibility because of a lawsuit filed by Liam Doyle with help from the Advocacy Center of Louisiana. The lawsuit alleges that Bisbano's does not provide an entrance, restrooms or parking for those with physical disabilities.

But many in the community have voiced opinions in support of the small business and its owner. As of Monday evening, $175 of a $1,000 goal had been donated to a crowdfunding page called "Bisbano's Handicap Accommodation fund" on GoFundMe.com.

Doyle has said his friends often invite him to Bisbano's, but he has to turn them down. Bisbano's is popular among University of Louisiana at Lafayette students for pizza and live music in the building's cellar, which is only accessible by a flight of stairs.

Doyle, who has the movement disorder cerebral palsy, uses his motorized wheelchair as his only mode of transportation. Bisbano's is one of the only locally owned pizza spots Doyle can get to from his downtown home, he says.

Petro has said that the lawsuit could put Bisbano's out of business.

While the ramp and parking spaces are relatively easy additions, the bathrooms require major construction that could cost tens of thousands of dollars on such an old building, according to Petro. He has also voiced concern over having to make the cellar accessible, although the lawsuit does not mention that as an issue.

"We’re sympathetic to it and we do what we can," Petro says. "But it’s a fact of life that you can’t get into every square inch of every building when you’re handicapped, especially in these old buildings."

Doyle declined to comment on the Bisbano's improvements until he could find out if the ramp and parking spaces were built to code. Nell Hahn, director of litigation and systems advocacy for the Advocacy Center, did not know about the Bisbano's improvements until Monday evening.

"That seems to be good news," Hahn said.

Bisbano's opened in 1975 as a pizza parlor in a former house near the UL campus. Petro purchased the business in 1990, the same year Congress enacted the American Disabilities Act.

The ADA did not require existing businesses to meet the same standards as new businesses, but it still required businesses to remove barriers for customers with disabilities if they are “easily accomplishable” and able to be “carried out without much difficulty or expense.”