NPR

Starbucks To Open First 'Signing Store' In The U.S. To Serve Deaf Customers

The store will be in Washington D.C., and will not only focus on hiring employees fluent in American Sign Language, but also on lighting and design that makes it easier for the deaf to communicate.
Starbucks is opening it's first deaf-friendly store in the U.S., where employees will be versed in American sign language and stores will be designed to better serve deaf people.

Ordering a "grande four-pump, nonfat, no-whip, extra-hot mocha" is a mouthful for any hot beverage nerd, but for deaf people, it can be hard to order just a simple cup of black coffee. Global coffee behemoth Starbucks' "Signing Store Project," launching in Washington, D.C. in October, aims to change that.

Adam Novsam, a deaf utility analyst at Starbucks headquarters in Seattle, knows firsthand how frustrating it can be to accomplish even the most basic

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