Happy Times At Happy Valley Station

By Guest Author: Lilly Longshore

Wowed by the variety of quality culinary options at Happy Valley Station, a welcoming food truck pod in Happy Valley, Oregon, our women’s wheelchair user group ultimately landed on a combination of Peruvian, Mexican and Italian cuisines for our luncheon fare. We narrowed those selections down from other choices, which included Japanese, Korean, Indian and more. The enticing perk of food cart pods is that everyone gets what they want! Add beverage choices of beer, wine, mixed drinks, sodas, bubble tea and coffee — plus cakes and sweets for dessert — and the opportunities are endless for complete, tasty meals.

Lilly recently visited Happy Valley Station with her women’s wheelchair user group.

Happy Valley Station has more than 18 excellent food trucks arranged around a pavilion with picnic tables set up both inside and out. The bar has a lowered, wheelchair-friendly counter for easy access, but as is typical of food trucks, it’s a reach to the counters from a wheelchair. Wheeling along the rows of food trucks was spacious and smooth sailing. We had reasonable access to picnic tables around the edges of the indoor dining area and in the corridors across from the food carts. We found accessible seating at the ends of the wooden picnic tables, but for only one wheelchair user at each table end. So we opted to be creative to get comfortable for our foursome. We gathered around a long wooden outdoor bench, which served as our table. That worked for us.

It is a reach to the windows of the food trucks, however the pathways are spacious.

Recognizing this as an opportunity to improve accessibility for wheelchair users at the food truck pod, I contacted the owner to suggest wheelchair-friendly seating options for groups. The owner already had it covered for individual users. She was happy to listen and has now ordered tables that will fit the bill quite nicely for future groups — a win-win for all.

In addition to serving excellent and varied foods, Happy Valley Station hosts family-friendly events throughout the week. Patrons can enjoy Trivia Night on the first and third Wednesdays, Bingo Night on Tuesdays or attend scheduled Kidz Bop events.

There are plenty of spots for individual wheelchair users, however new group tables will be available soon.

After enjoying a fine meal with friends, including drinks in the fresh air of the outdoor seating area, I rolled over to check out the restroom facilities. The lighting was low, but the facilities were clean and accessible. Our day at Happy Valley Station was a treat. The relaxed, low-key setting in our chosen outdoor locale felt refreshing and peaceful. I look forward to another visit — perhaps to hone my skills on Trivia Night at a new group table!

The bar has a lowered wheelchair-friendly counter for easy access.