Why does the door have to be open at Wine Country Trattoria?

[mamabot]

We had lunch at Wine Country Trattoria yesterday during the storm. Even though it was windy, raining and freezing, the staff claimed that they had to leave one door open at all times as per the Fire Code. Our group was already soaked and cold from walking to the restaurant from Disneyland. The elements that came through the open door made our dining experience quite unenjoyable.

Has anyone ever heard of this fire code rule before?

[PrincessY]

Doesn't make sense, since I assume the door actually opens after it has been closed.

[aashee]

My guess is it is true about the fire code even though I don't have the ability to come up with the code. If Disney guest were uncomforable due to the weather, I'd bet they'd close the door if asked.

Great meeting you Saturday Mamabot, thank you so much for volunteering. The staff was great and very friendly.

[mamabot]

That's the thing, they knew how uncomfortable we were and they were very insistent about keeping one of the two doors open. I think everyone in our party asked to have the door closed. We were in the smaller of the two dining rooms, and our table was only a few feet from the doors. At least they had one door closed.

It was really great getting to meet you too Chad! The Staff was pretty awesome this weekend. I all the Spotters.

[TP2000]

It depends on what kind of hardware the door has. If it has doorknobs that are mostly decorative and require you to turn the handle to exit the building, then yes there is a fairly routine fire code that says main entry doors must remain open. But if it has the "panic hardware" that is basically just a metal push bar that disengages the door mechanism and allows someone to exit the building without having to turn a handle, then the doors can be closed.

My hunch is that the doors have some artsy/craftsman decorative door knobs on them. They look cool, I'm sure, but they don't meet the fire requirements of having the official, and usually ugly, "panic hardware" on them. But since the climate in Anaheim lets them keep the doors open 350 days out of the year, they put up with the nuisance of keeping them open the 10 or 15 days out of the year when it's cold or rainy.

[mamabot]

Thank you for that clarification. If they had told us that, it would have made it more understandable. They do have wrought iron door handles that are beautiful.

[PragmaticIdealist]

I've been at this trattoria during cold weather, and I, along with the rest of my party, was uncomfortable, too. Since the location is no longer the Wine Country Market, changing the hardware seems like a necessity to prevent these guest concerns from recurring.

[aashee]

I've been at this trattoria during inclement weather, and I, along with the rest of my party, was uncomfortable, too. Since the location is no longer the Wine Country Market, changing the hardware seems like a necessity to prevent these guest concerns from recurring.

Agreed. Putting in a push handle for the exit seems like a much lesser evil than freezing your guests. I'll take comfort over ambiance any day.

[almandot]

Is there another fire exit somewhere? I don't think there is and that'd probably be why too.