Customers can watch videos showing the signs for different coffees on the menu and use them to place their orders.
In a unique shift that turns morning coffee runs into immersive accessibility lessons, Istanbul’s Dialogue Café, staffed entirely by deaf baristas, requires hearing customers to watch short video tutorials and sign their own orders at the counter.
Opened in 2016 at Gayrettepe Metro Station, the cafe helps visitors build confidence and ease any hesitation about communicating with the Deaf community.
Communication begins with a few simple signs guided by the baristas, helping customers gain greater awareness of sign language.
Customers can watch videos showing the signs for different coffees on the menu and use them to place their orders.
Nilay Goncagül, director of the Istanbul Dialogue Museum, told state-run Anadolu Agency that only deaf baristas currently work at the Dialogue Cafe.
Goncagül said the cafe initially employed hearing staff but that interest among deaf people increased over time. She added that the idea of employing deaf baristas emerged after their interest in learning coffee preparation led the museum to discover their abilities in the field.
Goncagül said the idea for the cafe emerged after discovering the natural interest and ability of deaf people in making coffee.
“We started with a few baristas. We now have six deaf baristas. They handle all the operations themselves and run the entire process,” she said.
She added that the employees learned the profession over time and that the cafe has provided barista training to many people during its 10-year history.
Goncagül said the cafe uses a menu featuring videos, illustrations and images to enable customers to order in sign language.
“Customers can look at the sign for the coffee they want on the menu and place their order,” she said.
Customers sometimes make mistakes or feel hesitant while ordering, Goncagül said, adding that baristas help visitors feel comfortable and complete their orders.
She said some customers initially believe they will not be able to communicate, but stressed that no advanced knowledge of sign language is needed to order a coffee.
“You are simply making an effort to communicate. In fact, you are breaking down prejudice and barriers. That is why they have a very different experience. We raise awareness both about deafness and sign language,” she said.
Goncagül said employing deaf baristas also contributes to the visibility of deaf people in society.
She noted that limited interaction between deaf and hearing communities can leave deaf people relatively isolated and limit wider society’s understanding of the deaf world.
“Although a world in which everyone knows and speaks sign language may not be entirely possible, we should not have a mindset that says we cannot communicate with a deaf person. We should break that barrier,” she said.
Goncagül said some customers specifically visit the cafe to practice ordering in sign language, despite the many other cafes in the area.
“Because we are in Gayrettepe, there are many workplaces around us. People buy their coffee here every morning and go to work,” she said.
Goncagül emphasized that visitors gain greater awareness through their experiences at the Dialogue Cafe.
“The biggest obstacle is prejudice. The way to learn is through encountering one another. That is why this is a social laboratory. There is nothing else like it in Türkiye,” she said.
Emre Beyyusufoğlu, a 33-year-old deaf barista, said he has worked at the museum for 10 years.
Beyyusufoğlu, who was the cafe’s first deaf barista, said he has worked at the cafe for six years.
He said he is happy when customers place their orders in sign language and stressed the importance of the language.
