ADA website accessibility.

[Capybara]

I operate Capybara Ramen & Sushi in Clermont, Florida. I recently tested our Toast Online Ordering page with Chrome Lighthouse because of growing concerns about ADA website accessibility.

A recent post in a Florida Thai restaurant owners’ group reported that restaurant owners are receiving accessibility complaints or lawsuits alleging that visually impaired customers could not use their online ordering websites. Other restaurant owners commented that similar cases have occurred before and may result in legal expenses or settlements.

Toast Support also informed me that Toast does not officially confirm that the complete Online Ordering process complies with WCAG 2.2 Level AA, and that the restaurant is responsible for compliance. This is concerning because restaurant owners do not control the Toast ordering platform’s code.

Has anyone received a VPAT, Accessibility Conformance Report, or accessibility audit from Toast? I would also appreciate an official response from Toast explaining how restaurant owners can report and resolve accessibility issues on Toast-controlled pages.

Thank you.

[au79teahouse]

I was wondering the same thing a while back. The ADA compliance lawsuit predators in our state are completely out of control. Thank you very much for bringing this issue up!

[Capybara]

Yes, absolutely. Anyone who has dealt with an ADA accessibility claim or lawsuit knows how much time, money, and stress it can create for a small business.

Restaurant owners already operate on relatively thin margins, often around 10–15%. If we are hit with a lawsuit, even before considering the final outcome, the legal fees, settlement costs, and time spent dealing with the issue can be very significant.

I really do not want other restaurant owners to go through the same kind of bad experience. That is why I believe this community is important. We should share our experiences, knowledge, and what we have learned so we can help protect one another and reduce unnecessary risk.

The more we communicate about issues like ADA accessibility, the better prepared all of us can be.

[au79teahouse]

@jenniI recently noticed that DoorDash has added an “Accessibility Mode” feature to the restaurant’s online ordering page (previously known as Storefront, now called the Commerce Platform).

Is this something Toast is considering implementing in the near future?

[jenni]

Hi Jeff, thanks for sharing this! Accessibility is an active investment area across our products, including online ordering. I can't share specifics on unreleased features or timelines, but I can tell you that additional accessibility tooling is on the radar for multiple teams here.

[au79teahouse]

Understood. Thank you for the update.