Local Diner Offers Hands-Free, Germ-Free Way To Open Restroom Door
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For people who actively avoid germs at any cost, at least one local diner now has a hands-free way to open a restroom door.
It's called a "Sanitary Door Opener," and it allows you to open the restroom door with your forearm. Nick Fifis, a partner at Ponzio's Diner in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, said he first saw the device at a restaurant trade show.
The idea is to put your forearm in a "U" shaped hook, and pull the door open, so you don't get your newly washed hands dirty.
"Bathrooms all have to be hands-free," Fifis said. "So you kind of want to get in and get out without touching anything you don't have to touch."
The device has been installed at Ponzio's for about a year, but not everyone recognized it.
"That was the first time I'd ever seen it," said one patron. "I didn't know what it was."
Those who did seemed to like the idea.
"I usually keep the paper towel and throw it after I open the door, so that is a clever idea," said Patty, another patron at the restaurant. "I just think it's a little high though."
Fifis said he gets more compliments on that door opener than he does on the food at the diner.
