Getting Started June 20, 2007, 11:23AM EST

Meet the Talking Menu

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Susan Perry with her newly patented gizmo.

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There's a volume control, buttons that let users choose between English and Spanish, as well as a "service" button that, when pressed, flashes blue to attract the waiter's attention. When a diner pushes a button, the device informs them, via recordings made by professional readers,which section of the menu they've selected, such as appetizers, soups, or entrees (and which are organized in the order of a traditional meal). Push the same button again, and the device then rattles off each item in that section, complete with descriptions and prices. The device also has a detachable speaker that can be used to funnel sound directly into the hearing aid of a hearing impaired patron.

Perry, who just received the first prototypes from Control Vision in May, hasn't settled on a price. For now, she's mulling the idea of charging $4,000 for five units, though she's willing to slash that price significantly for major restaurant chains that buy in bulk. The effective cost for owners of small restaurants would be less as well, since they'd qualify for tax breaks for providing a service to the disabled—a tax break that Perry says would cut the net cost to small restaurateurs roughly in half.

But buying the units is only the first step. Perry also requires that purchasers who want to update their menus in the future must pay for new recordings by Menus That Talk's professional readers (which the restaurateurs can download via the Internet). Perry hasn't determined how much the update service will cost, but is unwilling to budge on letting restaurants update the menus themselves, because she wants to maintain the professional quality of Menus That Talk—and provide her company with a future annuity stream.

Future Fixture?

Lombardi, the industry consultant, wonders if the cost of having to pay Taylannas for menu updates will be the deal breaker for many restaurants. "Restaurants need to consider: How big is the need relative to the cost?" he says. "If it has a use, it will be pushed by legislation (mandating that restaurants meet the special needs of the disabled) rather than pulled by consumer need and industry response to consumer need."

So far, Perry says she hasn't received any orders in the four weeks she's been seriously marketing the new devices. And a few major chains contacted by BusinessWeek say they have no plans for now to purchase the Menus That Talk. "We print large-type Braille menus for sight-impaired guests," Rick Johnson, a senior vice-president for Ruby Tuesday (RT), wrote in an e-mail. "We do not currently have plans for the implementation of a device [like Perry's]."

But Perry remains optimistic, claiming that she got a positive reception at the recent National Restaurant Association Show from such companies as Hooters, Disney (DIS), and Universal Studios. "We had considerable interest from big (restaurant) chains," Perry says. She says she's also been contacted by some government agencies, including the Veterans Affairs Dept., and has also received interest from governments in Australia and India. If Perry's dream is realized, her talking menus could be as much of a fixture at restaurants as the napkin on which it was drawn up.

Brian Burnsed is an intern for BusinessWeek based in Atlanta.