Checking out the newly ADA compliant Dutch Goose

Since opening in 1966, The Dutch Goose has been an iconic landmark  in and around Menlo Park. This year it has a new look, inside and out. Owner Greg explains that the restaurant “got sued for discriminating against handicapped people,” and subsequently needed to renovate the building in order to provide access. [Editor’s note: According to the Almanac News, the man who sued the Goose has sued numerous establishments. For more details, read the article.]

As a result of this lawsuit, the Dutch Goose now has lower countertops, a wheelchair lift, remodeled restrooms — and homemade pizza. The addition onto the back of the building houses “everything that we lost below to ADA,” such as refrigerators and offices.

Greg, a Menlo-Atherton High School alumni who has owned the Goose the past decade, describes the lawsuit as a “blessing in disguise,” as it provided him with an outlet “to remove barriers to entry to [make the Dutch Goose] accessible to everyone.” In fact, he emphasizes that the community’s response to the renovation has been completely positive. “[We’ve] seen a lot more disabled people,” he says with a smile. “Food production is quicker” as well.

Though he doesn’t have any major plans for the future, Greg maintains his original attitude regarding the Dutch Goose: “My goal when I came was to preserve the Goose. I don’t want to make drastic changes, but you have to adjust with the neighborhood.”