A Little Pizza Heaven is the first restaurant to join the Dementia Friendly Dining initiative to create welcoming spaces for those with dementia.

SCRANTON, Pa. — Darryl Bartlett owns “A Little Pizza Heaven” restaurant in Scranton.  About two years ago his wife Toni was diagnosed with dementia.

“We’ve noticed a tremendous decline over these past two years.  She can’t make any executive decisions anymore, she has problems sequencing,” Bartlett said.

Recently the Bartletts had a bad experience while dining out.

“It was a place we always went to before and it was just too loud, too many things going on and it really overwhelmed her,” Bartlett said.

The group Age Friendly Lackawanna realizes going out to eat can be stressful and overwhelming for people with dementia.  Recently the group started an initiative called “Dementia Friendly Dining”.  It’s free for restaurants to participate.  

“We work one on one with the restaurant and their front of house staff.  We work through those information sessions, talk through what dementia is, talk through little practices and what you can do to make someone living with dementia and their caregiver feel a little more welcome,” Mike Castellano of Age Friendly Lackawanna said.

The goal is to create a more accomodating space for both people living with dementia and their caregivers.  The group says simple steps make a difference.

“It’s signage, it’s understanding, it’s patience, it’s awareness,” Castellano said.

A Little Pizza Heaven is the first restaurant to take part in the Dementia Friendly Dining initiative.  

“Anything I can do, if I can teach somebody, or if I can make someone more comfortable when they come here with their loved one who has dementia, that’s all I can do.  That’s all I can hope for,” Bartlett said.

If you are a restaurant in Lackawanna, Wayne or Pike Counties and would like to take part in the Dementia Friendly Dining initiative, contact Age Friendly Lackawanna.  There is also a database on the group’s website of participating restaurants.