Starbucks to release new large-print and Braille menus this summer amid other accessibility moves

• The coffee chain announced new moves to support blind and low-vision employees and customers.
• The announcement of the large-print and Braille menus, as well as other accomodations, comes ahead of the annual shareholder meeting.

Starbucks announced Monday it would be making several major steps to make its menus and stores more accessible for blind and low-vision customers in a release preceding its annual shareholders meeting.

This summer, the chain will distribute large-print and Braille menus to all stores in the US and Canada. The chain is working with the National Braille Press to create the new menus.

And in the meantime, starting Monday, March 15, the company announced that it would be giving customers in the US access to Aira, an app that "connects blind and low-vision people to highly trained, remotely located visual interpreters to provide instant access to visual information through a third-party smartphone app."

Starbucks has made other efforts to make its customer experience more accessible and equitable, and the company is highlighting those steps ahead of its annual shareholders meeting.

At the meeting, Starbucks is also expected to discuss its earnings from the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021, which saw the effects of the pandemic driving a 5% decline in consolidated net revenues.

The press release also touted Starbucks' "inclusive design," including its nine signing stores in the US aimed at promoting inclusion of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities as well as the company's distribution of clear face masks to make signing and lip-reading more accessible during the pandemic.