Maya-Camille Broussard may have named Justice of the Pies for her late father, Stephen J. Broussard, an attorney who baked on weekends to relieve stress, but it was the work of her mother, Camille Billingslea, a retired physician at Stroger Hospital, that inspired the celebrity chef to consider accessibility in creating her bakery’s first brick-and-mortar location (8655 S. Blackstone Ave., Marynook). So it’s only fitting that Broussard has her mother read the daily specials aloud to each customer from behind a glass case containing signatures like bourbon pecan pie, salted caramel peach pie, and spinach, bacon, and feta quiche. Broussard thought her mother’s soothing voice would make disabled people feel at home.

As someone living with partial hearing loss, Broussard knows what it feels like to be left out, so she challenged the Chicago-based architecture practice Future Firm to explore ways to incorporate accessibility into her shop’s design, from Braille signage to a ramp outside. “I wanted others to feel just as included and welcomed as I wish I felt in many spaces,” Broussard says. Here, she breaks down the bakery’s inclusive elements.

The front counter at Justice of the Pies

1. 32-INCH COUNTERS

“These are for children. We make sure to accommodate children, because not everything is made to be accessible for them.”

2. BRAILLE

“We have it on the signage throughout the shop. We don’t have Braille menus, because we change the menu so often.”

3. VARYING FLOOR TILES

“We have different textures designated for different areas. There’s one type for the retail space, but then you have large slate flooring for the bathroom. The idea is to be mindful of someone who has low vision or is using a walking stick.”

Signage at Justice of the Pies

EASY-TO-READ LABELING

“We made sure to have signage that is very clear and relatively large.”

LOW COAT HOOKS

“We have hooks at two different levels [to accommodate people in wheelchairs]. We live in Chicago, so we need a place to hang up our coats and handbags.”

The exterior of Justice of the Pies

1. SMOOTH SURFACE

“Thanks goes to Alderman Michelle Harris for using her funding to give us new sidewalks. People notice the difference.”

2. FRONT RAMP

“We’ve had several customers come with wheelchairs. They say, ‘Oh, this is great, you have a ramp.’ There wasn’t one attached to this building before.”