Impact Kitchen — Restaurant in Toronto

Well, I came to Impact Kitchen hoping to be able to have a healthy lunch. I was barred access for my disability, which is federally recognized. I have a head injury, and require good nutrition as a part of my rehabilitation process. I requested, "I am requesting accommodation for my disability under AODA, and require you to lower your music level for me to be able to eat a quick lunch." I had no intention to be there for hours, but I just wanted to sit down as I was quite tired. Even after I requested that they turn down the music, as the decibel level being above 75db, and it was too loud for to enjoy a meal comfortably and safely.

Impact is not a bar, or a nightclub, and there is no logical reason to hammer clients with extreme noise. Every surface in the place is hard, save one wall which has a plastic plant creation on it, but serves very little acoustic management for sound baffling. What happens with a space designed with all hard surfaces is that originating sounds, such as a blender, or loud music, actually BOUNCE off the walls and it causes a cacaphony of sound, and actual physical stress for persons with brain injury.

Lowering the music is critical to being accessible for a person with a brain injury. More people have brain injuries than cancer, and so insulting and barring such a significant demographic is both unconstitutional and illegal. I am in a position to be able to sue Impact for their violation of my human rights.

The manager herself was the person who refused to permit access, and while on the surface she appeared to be quiet, and listen, she refused to allow access, and was disparaging in her remarks toward the request, even when I described it as being tantamount to taking a baseball bat to my head.

Additionally, there was no visible accessibility button by the exit door.

The problem with attitudes like this, which compared to the Organic Garage, who were kind and friendly, and Balzacs, who would have happily turned off their music for me, but had their music already at a very LOW level, is that it's humiliating, fundamentally. It's god awful dealing with discrimination and it's exhausting emotionally.

Ontario doesn't pay for head injury rehabilitation as it stands, and it costs individuals and families staggering amounts of money on their own, and when organizations such as this attempt to purloin human rights, it stands in direct contrast to the equality and civil liberties to which we are entitled to as human beings residing in Ontario.

There needs to be action taken to make accommodation for persons with head injury something that isn't humiliating, and mortifying, as I was today by IMPACT KITCHEN. Living in an environment of equality should not require having to "gird your loins and threaten to sue" because frankly, I just want to be able to try to get on with my life.

I had my service dog with me. That should have been some kind of a sign.... I mean. Come ON!

The biggest reason for leaving this review, and contacting the ownership afterward, is educate organizations on the barriers put up, often unwittingly, to a massive demographic. What happens to people with brain injuries is that their world shrinks, because most of the time, trying to deal with the organization is in itself, another massive detractor from the extensive rehab people are undergoing, with limited energy available because of the severe fatigue that accompanies head injuries, and MTBI, or PCS, or concussion. What happens to people is that they fade out of experiences, and disappear.

That isn't fair access. It's systemic. Update. The management of IMPACT KITCHEN couldn't be bothered to speak with me today, but pushed it off to a week away from the date of the incident.

I find the lack of accountability incomprehensible.

It is awful beyond words having to write reviews like this. It is awful because MORE PEOPLE HAVE HEAD INJURIES THAN CANCER, AND THIS KIND OF CONDUCT FROM ORGANIZATIONS IS...

This is a warning for vegans and people with any food sensitivities, not so much a review. I have been going to Impact King St since they opened a couple of years ago. I’d say I was a pretty solid and consistent customer as I work close by and there are limited options for healthy food in the area. I am vegan, and often order the raw chocolate chip cookie, which had always been vegan.

Apparently they "somewhat recently changed the chocolate chips, to ones that aren’t dairy free” (as it was said to me), but this is not being communicated in any way to customers! I only found out coincidentally. Who knows how many I have eaten with dairy? There are no visible or verbal indications that the ingredients had changed. In fact, their Ritual and UberEats menu still label this cookie 'vegan'. Luckily my veganism is a choice, but there are so many people that can’t eat dairy due to legitimate health reasons. It seems so odd (not to mention incredibly careless) to change an ingredient in something that has always been dairy free/vegan, and to continue to brand it as such.

I contacted Impact via email to express my confusion over this, and was told a store manager would call me. The manager never called, so I followed up by email again to get an update. I got a call shortly after that, and was told about the change in chocolate chips, and they offered me a free meal for my inconvenience. Thanks, I guess. Except now I have 1. unwittingly eaten dairy, and 2. I have to go in and speak to a manager in order to claim my free meal. (which confused me as I was told the manager was the one calling me, so not exactly sure who I was speaking to)

Anyway, I wanted to send a warning out there to those like me, who actually want to eat what they think they are eating. I don’t plan on ever going back there again as I can’t trust them anymore. Many of my co-workers...

I usually don’t do this, especially since my dad and I are loyal customers and have been supporting impact for just over three years now but, after yet another disappointing customer experience I felt like writing a review. We frequent the king location and as friendly neighbourhood restauranteurs we like supporting other businesses. We would go daily, sometimes even twice a day . Reccomending our other neighbours to go and try it. We truly loved it so much.

However, this is no longer the case. It once used to be a friendly place where staff recognized you and greeted you warmly. If their were any issues they were ALWAYS super accommodating and made sure you left happy. We could get these products anywhere and even make them at home but because we loved their environment we didn’t mind spending.

This is no longer the case. Every time I’m in now I see different faces and not once am I greeted. Staff used to help bag our things (we usually buy a bunch of things at a time) now I’m lucky if someone gives me a bag without me asking for one. Which I need to pack myself. We’ve had some bad experiences recently but figured we’d let it go. But, Just today I had another bad experience. After realizing I wasn’t given a bill for my order I waked back to the till that served me and waited as the last behind the cash assistedsomeone else. While cashing her customer out she rudely leaned over to me and said “what’s up?” I was stunned that this is how an employee would be to a customer given we also work in the service industry.

I guess now with more than one location impact isnt concerned with their customers anymore, as Customer service is nothing like it was when it first opened. It’s been like this for months and we wont be coming back.

Very disspontited. Impact needs more employees like they had prior to...