Paper Doll cocktail bar in downtown Birmingham is now sensory inclusive. The bar teamed up with Kulture City, the Birmingham-based nonprofit that specializes in using technology to make traveling more comfortable for people with sensory needs, such as autism, PTSD, and Parkinson’s disease. The non-profit says Paper Doll is now the first sensory inclusive bar in the nation.

Uma Srivastava, the organization’s COO, made the announcement Wednesday evening during an intimate celebration party at the bar.

For people with sensory needs, light, sounds, and certain smells and touches can be overwhelming. In Birmingham, Kulture City has worked to make a number of venues around the city to make them more friendly to people with sensory needs, including the McWane Science Center, the Birmingham Zoo, and the Vulcan Park and Museum. In February, Kulture City also unveiled the first sensory room in the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth airport.

It’s here!!!!! The world’s first sensory inclusive room in an airport for ALL abilities and sensory needs! Thanks to the amazing team at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport !!!! Posted by KultureCity on Saturday, February 16, 2019

Kulture City also brings sensory-friendly spaces to venues across the nation. In 2017, the non-profit teamed up with the Cleveland Cavaliers to create the first sensory-inclusive NBA stadium.

Srivastava says when people think about public places that may be difficult for people with sensory needs, they tend to forget about common places like bars and restaurants.

“There’s a lot of social isolation involved. So adults with sensory needs sometimes might not be able to go out because they’re not able to adapt and they get overwhelmed,’ said Srivastava. “Then they have to step away or leave the venue.”

Currently, the organization has sensory-friendly tools in six restaurants around the state. Paper Doll will be the first bar.

Kulture City spent weeks training the staff at Paper Doll to recognize the signs of sensory overload. They also equipped the bar with sensory bags that contain noise reducing headphones, fidget toys, and a feelings thermometer. Paper Doll now has signs on the widows and the walls, indicating that it is a “sensory inclusive location.” The bar is also now listed on Kulture City’s mobile app.

Randall Porter takes a photo of the "Sensory Inclusive Location" sign on the front window of Paper Doll. (Credit: Randall Porter)

“A bar gets really loud with the music, the chatter, the mixing of cocktails, so a lot of these tools help out with that,” said Srivastava.

Becoming sensory inclusive is a huge step for Paper Doll, which opened in December in downtown Birmingham’s Loft District. Co-owner Jason Koenig, who has long appreciated Kulture City’s efforts to make the nation more adaptable to people with sensory disabilities, said the bar reached out to the organization.

“I think what they’re doing is amazing. And we asked about it, and they didn’t have a sensory inclusive bar. And I thought, ‘wow, we need to kind of spearhead that,’ ” said Koenig. “People don’t think about bars as needing to be sensory inclusive. We {tend to} think of children, but even a bar should have a capacity to help those that have sensory needs. So I think it was a no brainer.”

A Kulture City sensory bag with Paper Doll's signature "Kulture City" cocktail. (Credit: Shauna Stuart for Al.com)

Wednesday’s announcement came on the heels of another achievement for Kulture City. Last month, Fast Company named the organization number four on its 2019 Most Innovative Companies List in the Live Events category.

Kulture City will soon operate in three countries. The organization is expanding into Canada to work with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Roger center. Srivastava says she will also head to Australia to bring Kulture City to the Geelong Cats football club.