BOCA RATON Fla. Original Pancake House franchisees Mohammed and Carol Sattar, at their restaurant here, are using technology from Menus That Talk to serve non-English speaking guests and others who have difficulty reading conventional bills of fare.
"South Florida is a cultural crossroads," said Mohammed "Mo" Sattar. "Not only do we get visitors who don't speak English, but we've got a large retired population. We had to find a way to serve them." Added Carol Sattar of the devices about the size of a DVD case that come with recorded menu descriptions and feature detachable earpieces for privacy, "Customers simply select a language they prefer, then press a button like 'Omelet's, Crepes or Senior Specials.' "
Sources at Miami-based Menus That Talk said guests, when ready to order, press a button to summon a server. They said the company delivered a pair of talking menus to the Sattars within a week of receiving printed menus and added that the multilingual audio technology provides users with more information than Braille menus.