CHENNAI: The Museum Café, a unique and fully accessible restaurant cum vocational training centre, run for persons with disabilities (PwDs) atop the Museum of Possibilities at the Lady Willingdon College campus in Mylapore, has been shut down by the Commissionerate for the Welfare of the Differently-Abled, reportedly to convert the premises into office space.
Sources said Monday was the café’s last working day. The café also offered PwDs, especially those with developmental disabilities, training opportunities and also served as an accessible place for them to meet and interact.
The Museum of Possibilities, along with the café, was inaugurated by Chief Minister MK Stalin in June 2022 as a Tamil Nadu government initiative. The museum showcases a range of assistive and adaptive devices aimed at enabling PwDs to lead more independent lives. It was conceptualised as a space where persons with disabilities could try out new technologies and understand what best suited their needs, while also raising public awareness on accessibility and inclusive living.
The café functioned as a bakery and confectionery training unit for persons with developmental disabilities and offered hands-on experience for them in a safe and inclusive environment. Accessibility features such as the absence of open flames to prompts and cues for persons with memory issues were built into the workspace. Trainees were taught all aspects of café operations, including taking orders, prepping, cooking, serving food and cleaning, said Sudha Ramamoorthy, a member of the Disability Rights Alliance.
The training was part of a one-year vocational programme run by NGO Vidya Sagar under which students received a stipend. The course consisted of six months of theory classes at the NGO followed by six months of industrial training at the café. In all, 16 persons were trained including 10 from Vidya Sagar and six from other referrals. Nearly 10 of them are now working in restaurants, while one has started his own business.
“Most of the setup and accessibility features were created by Foundation for Vocational Training, which operated the café. It was a small but significant slice of Chennai that was truly accessible for persons with disabilities. The cafe was near the accessible pathway on Marina beach and the inclusive play park at Santhome and reachable via low-floor buses. And importantly, it trained persons with developmental disabilities, who often struggle to find employment,” Sudha added.
In a notice dated September 26, the Commissionerate stated that its three-year MoU with Vidya Sagar ended on August 31, 2025. It also noted that the commissionerate has decided to run Museum of Possibilities only on the ground floor and that tenders had been invited to manage and operate the facility. The NGO was instructed to hand over the café premises within 60 days.
With the closure, an accessible, community-led space created for and by persons with disabilities, and one that also served as a free, fully accessible event venue, will now be gone, say disability rights activists. “The café, which has been functioning for three years, was 100% accessible. From the light switches to the cutlery, every detail was designed to accommodate people with different kinds of disabilities. Because of this, it became a popular and safe space for wheelchair users and others with disabilities and several events were held there,” said Sathish Kumar, a wheelchair user and member of the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA).
He added that it was disheartening to see such a valuable space being shut down. “The department should allow the café to continue, as it would be very difficult to recreate a space like this again,” he said. Officials from differently abled welfare department were not available for comments.