Bratislava's Café Radnična has closed. (source: SITA)
CAFÉ Radnička in Bratislava's Primaciálne Square, which has employed disabled people as waiters, closed temporarily on September 30. It is located in the same building as the Old Town Hall, which is undergoing a two-year long renovation, the SITA newswire wrote.
Inklúzia (Inclusion), the civic association that operates the café, plans to return once the renovations are complete, and is opening a new training café nearby, according to its representative, Viera Záhorcová.
In the meantime, the café’s three waiters will work in the canteen at the nearby U Milosrdných Bratov (Merciful Brothers) hospital.
Záhorcová added that at least one of the waiters may work in Bratislava’s luxurious Hotel Carlton in the future. During the last week in September, the hotel management arranged for all three to try serving customers in the café and restaurant there, and they all enjoyed it a lot, she said.
One of the waitresses, Terézia, who has epilepsy, commented that employers should not be afraid to hire disabled people.
She said her job had helped her learn how to communicate with people and earn a liveable wage.
Café Radnička, which opened in 2000, is the prime example of Inklúzia’s belief that the disabled have skills that allow them to become fully integrated into society, the daily wrote.
