Left to their own devices

Sometimes, people don’t appreciate a problem until someone devises a solution.

Such forward-thinking innovation is on the menu at a Toronto-area Chili’s Grill & Bar right now. In fact, it is the menu.

Heath Everett, president and franchise owner of the Chili’s on Colossus Dr. in Vaughan, is the proud architect behind what is quite possibly the world’s first left-handed restaurant menu. With his innovation, launched to much acclaim last week, southpaws get to ponder the nachos versus wings debate in an orderly fashion that favours their physical preferences.

In the left-handed version of this critical document, the binding is on the side facing its conventional real estate, and the page order is reversed. “They open it up as a right-handed person would, but it’s opposite,” says Everett, who fastened upon the idea as a first-anniversary attention-grabber to compensate for a lean marketing budget.

“I was talking with a left-handed family member and this was kind of an epiphany.”

After all, he points out, if 10% of the population is left handed, and the GTA’s about 6 million strong, that’s 600,000 left-leaning souls who might appreciate the special effort.

Thanks to it, customers are welcomed at the Chili’s hostess stand with the unusual question: Are you a leftie or a rightie? “Most people look at us as if we’re completely bonkers, or [as if to say], ‘Why the hell is that any of your business?’” says Everett. But response has been strong, with servers pushing the novelty with buttons declaring, “Kiss me, I’m a leftie,” and “Lefties do it right.”

“We’re not trying to say this is rocket science,” says Everett, “but people have certainly been having some fun.”