Aug. 22--CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--Ten months ago, Iris Andros made a mistake: She refused to let a blind man's guide dog into her restaurant, Zorba's. 

Since then, she has apologized several times, written a court-ordered book report, offered to donate money to a guide-dog school and tried to plan a workshop for other businesses about the rights of disabled people. 

But despite her best efforts to get past the Oct. 7 incident, it continues to affect her life and her business. Her restaurant has lost customers, she has gotten harassing phone calls, and her family has gone into debt to shore up the restaurant. 

Dan Pollitt, a retired University of North Carolina law professor and co-founder of the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union, said he believes Andros has paid for her mistake with her apologies and court-ordered book report. "I think from now on it's vindictive," he said. "I think it should have ended with the criminal proceedings." 

But the blind man, Dave Oberhart of Durham, said Andros hasn't done enough. He sued last week, seeking more than $20,000 in damages. "I don't think that she's learned her lesson," Oberhart said Tuesday. " ... If her business has suffered, that's not my fault." 

In response to the suit, Andros' attorney filed an offer to settle the matter. The offer consists of steps that Andros previously agreed to take but that Oberhart so far has declined. 

On her 32nd birthday this week, Andros sat at Zorba's, discussing the months since the incident. So far, she and her husband have borrowed $17,000 to stay afloat. Because of declining business, the restaurant is now open Sundays, and two of the wait staff have quit. 

The worst part, Andros said, is the harassing phone calls that began when her mistake became public. People swear at her, wish she would go blind, threaten her life and make reservations at Zorba's under names such as Mr. Dog. Others have left mean-spirited notes on Zorba's door. "I lost all my regular customers -- 99 percent of them," Andros said. 

Louis Andros, Iris' husband, has run Zorba's for 13 years. As he talks about the past few months, his wife's eyes fill with tears. Mr. Andros, who was in the rear of the restaurant when Oberhart came in, knew to allow his dog to accompany him. The couple have argued many times about Iris' refusal to admit Oberhart that day. 

"Sometimes I blame her for what she did," Louis Andros said, resting his hand on his wife's shoulder. "But I'm wrong. She did not know that." 

Iris Andros, who came from Egypt seven years ago, insists that she had never seen a guide dog before that evening. She didn't allow Oberhart's dog inside because she thought it would violate the health code. "I became aware of the law," she said. "The fact is, before and after and during, I had nothing against disabled people. Nobody should." 

Since she turned away Oberhart, Andros has apologized several times and has proposed to do it publicly, offered Oberhart and his family a free meal, advertised 25 percent discounts to the visually impaired and disabled, and offered 10 percent of the restaurant's receipts from one day each month to a guide-dog school. So far, Oberhart has agreed only to her offer of a workshop for business owners. 

What Oberhart really wanted Andros to do was to donate $20,000 to train a guide dog. 

"That was an offer that they could have taken at any time," he said. "It's a lot of money, and I understand that. They wanted to make a small token, and we're not really interested in that. We want something that is more significant, I think." 

Alexandra Bradstreet, 28, of Durham is blind and teaches braille and other skills to blind children. She said she has been turned away from five restaurants in four states because of her guide dog. She and a friend dined during the spring at Zorba's restaurant "to test the place" after hearing about Oberhart's visit. 

"They were very nice to us," she said. "Someone in the kitchen offered to read me their menu. Iris came and talked to us for about 20 minutes all about guide dogs. She said she enjoyed our conversation quite a bit." 

In the end, Andros said the meal was on the house. Bradstreet felt bad because she knew the restaurant's business had declined. 

"When I got home, I called all my friends and said please go to this restaurant. It's a great restaurant," she said. "I deeply feel sorry for the owner." 

Bradstreet said most of the places that have turned her away were owned by foreigners who didn't quite understand the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. Since 1992, it has guaranteed the right of a blind person to be accompanied by a guide dog. 

But Andros, she said, seems to understand now. To Bradstreet, Oberhart's lawsuit is unnecessary. 

"I think that she's done enough," Bradstreet said. "Although I think it's very good that she has offered the receipts to the guide-dog schools. That shows the people that she understands, that she's working for a cause, and that she's trying to make up" for her mistakes. 

Pollitt, the retired UNC law professor, eats lunch at Zorba's every Wednesday. Iris Andros told him about Oberhart's visit shortly after it happened. 

"She was extremely indignant at the thought that a dog would come into a restaurant," Pollitt said this week. "She said this would not happen in Egypt. I think that it was an honest mistake. When I told her about the law, she was unbelieving. She was angry at the thought that she could be punished for trying to keep a restaurant clean." 

Pollitt said he advised Andros to apologize and to invite Oberhart to eat in her restaurant, which she did. 

He later read her 10-page book report. "It was a very tender, sensitive book review," Pollitt said, "and it opened her eyes completely as to the world of [guide] dogs." 

Staff writer Angela Heywood Bible can be reached at 932-2014 or [email protected] 

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