Shared Restaurant Seating: Why Nine in Ten of Gen Z Like This Trend
Term: Shared tables.
Look: Long, awkward and making a comeback.
The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Refectory Tables is the Cafeteria
What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like communal tables, versus just six in ten of boomers".
A Sign of the Times. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People
Communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the second world war, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.
It Was Logical When Food Was Scarce, But Why Do It Now?
It’s an alien concept for you, admittedly, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero explains: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "You never know who you’ll be seated next to; that’s the fun of it!"
The “Fun” of Having Dinner Interrupted by A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Revealing They Are an Empath
Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally of their reel while eating a salad? Consider this: gen Z – the most digitally connected group, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. This same desire behind the rise of youth running groups, group hikes and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.
I Prefer Dining in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.
This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, as per an Oxfam study released this summer). A recent American study , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?
Perhaps. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups More Often Feel Happier
Talking to strangers is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Additionally the Resy data highlights an additional benefit: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meat-cute".
I Hate That Pun Almost as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.
My work here is done.
Appropriate comment: "Young adults believe shared meals are a total success."
Don’t say: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."