Northbrook restaurant introduces sensory-friendly dining sessions
Saturdays at most restaurants are crowded, loud and bustling with action. It makes for a fun atmosphere for most of us, but for people with autism or other sensory disorders it can be too much to handle.
Chef Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe is hoping a new special program at the Northbrook restaurant will provide an opportunity where everyone can come together and enjoy a meal.
“I really feel strongly that restaurants are about creating that moment where people can sit down and connect and be taken care of,” Stegner said. “Everybody should be able to have that experience.”
For three upcoming Saturdays, Prairie Grass Cafe will offer sensory-friendly dining hours. The 90-minute special seatings will take place Aug. 5, 12 and 26 starting at 3:45 p.m., and will be designed to provide an inclusive atmosphere for people with autism, sensory input disorders, sensory sensitivities or other physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities.
Stegner said she got the idea after talking with a family friend who has autistic children. Her friend said they never go out to restaurants.
“She said it's overwhelming for them,” Stegner said. “The sounds are overwhelming, the people are overwhelming. And I understand that when you walk in to a restaurant on a Saturday, when most families come together, it's hard to even have a conversation in the best of circumstances.”
So Stegner set out to do something about it. She enlisted the help of Hannah Rose Higdon, a friend from Louisville, Kentucky. Higdon, who is deaf, advocates for that community as well as a variety of other differently-Abled communities.
Higdon said she was excited to be able to get involved, having heard of stores with sensory-friendly shopping hours, but didn't know of many restaurants doing it.
“I thought it honestly overdue,” Higdon said. “All people want to go out to get dinner together, and it's just really nice that now they have a space to do so where they can feel included and have a normal, fun experience.”
When it comes to making a more inviting space for people with sensory sensitivities, less is more.
So the special dining hours will have far fewer patrons. The plan is to only take reservations for about four of their 30-plus tables so people at one table won't see people at another. Servers will have been coached to provide efficient service with minimal contact. Lights will be dimmed, and there won't be any music to keep noise to a minimum.
“This was just about taking a step back and listening to the people and creating a space that they can feel welcome and a part of, not just for them, but for their families and other people,” Higdon said.
A few menu items that might take longer have been removed to keep the wait time down.
Stegner, a two-time James Beard Award winner and 2022 Illinois Restaurant Association Restaurateur of the Year, is careful to point out that she wants her guests to get the “full Prairie Grass experience.”
“It's my menu with my service staff, who are wonderful,” she said. “It will just be without so many people and without so much noise, so that people can connect and not be overwhelmed with what's going on around you.”
At 5 p.m., guests will be given their checks and alerted that the restaurant opens for regular business in 15 minutes, when more guests will arrive, the lights will be turned up and music will start, but they're welcome to stay as long as they like.
Stegner said she realizes 3:45 p.m. isn't an ideal time, but the restaurant business is built on volume and she just can't do something like this during peak hours.
“It's what I could do, so I'll see if people want to try it,” she said. “If it's hitting the niche and people are actually finding value in it then we'll go from there.”
Sensory-friendly dining
Where: Prairie Grass Cafe, 601 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, (847) 205-4433, prairiegrass.cafe/.
When: 3:45 p.m. Aug. 3, 12 and 26. Reservations are required.