Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment that serves and sells food. Restaurants have existed since ancient times to fulfill travelers' needs and have evolved over time. They continue to serve a huge variety of foods and cuisines and include different dining concepts such as fine dining, fast food, fast casual, and food trucks. Restaurants remain popular into the twenty-first century and continue to adapt to their customers' changing needs and tastes.

History

Restaurants date back to the Roman Empire and ancient China. Most places that made and sold food for a profit established themselves near cities. Farmers and merchants brought their livestock, goods, and wares to marketplaces, but they typically had to travel to get to their destinations. The earliest form of a restaurant during this time was an inn that provided lodging and food to travelers. Inns served meals but did not have menus; they served whatever the chef felt like cooking. Inns also served as places where people gathered to meet others.

In crowded cities where space was tight, vendors sold food from carts on the street. These foods usually were made in advance, which allowed the vendors to provide a quick and affordable meal. This was the precursor to fast food.

In the Middle Ages, inns and taverns were popular in Europe and offered a particular type of food or cuisine that varied by location. Spanish inns known as bodegas usually served tapas, or small plates of food. Stews and soups were popular in France, while English inns favored shepherd's pie. Most foods served at this time were very simply made.

After the discovery of the New World, trade increased, bringing new foods to Europe. In addition to ale and wine, taverns sold coffee, tea, and chocolate. Although inns and taverns, also called dining rooms and public houses, became more common during this time, most people still ate their meals at home; mostly travelers and the wealthy ate at established restaurants.

In France, only those who belonged to guilds could prepare and sell foods; for example, charcutiers could sell meats. However, laws began to change, and soon anyone could sell food in France. A new type of dining called fine dining emerged as chefs opened restaurants that featured a diverse menu complete with china, cutlery, and linens. Instead of common tables, they introduced private tables with servers that were held for patrons by reservations. France became the birthplace of the modern restaurant.

After the French Revolution (1789–1799), fine dining expanded to other parts of the world. Restaurants began to adapt to suit the needs of their patrons. During the nineteenth century, the café-style restaurant emerged. This restaurant sold beverages and light foods but did not offer table service. People ordered at a counter and then sat down and ate. Soup kitchens and dairy shops offered less fancy foods for low prices to accommodate the working class.

The Industrial Revolution helped connect cities by transportation such as railways, which further expanded travel and tourism and, in turn, dining, as more restaurants emerged to supply the demands of hungry travelers. Parisian restaurants, however, became synonymous with luxury and gourmet dining. During the 1820s, businessman Cesar Ritz partnered with French chef Auguste Escoffier to build a luxury hotel with a fine dining restaurant onsite called Grand Hotel of Monte Carlo. Soon, hotels containing fine dining restaurants, where people could stay and eat in luxury accommodations, appeared throughout Europe and then spread to the rest of the world.

Restaurant improvements continued into the twentieth century, when cleanliness and hygiene became a major priority. In the mid-1900s, fast-food chains began to emerge in the United States. These restaurants used Henry Ford's assembly line to make and package foods quickly and then serve them to their customers at low prices. The McDonalds brothers were one of the first to perfect this technique; they sold hamburgers at their restaurants. A man named Ray Kroc bought the McDonald's restaurant concept and began to franchise it. By the 1960s, numerous McDonald's franchises opened throughout the United States. Other fast-food franchises also emerged, including Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and Pizza Hut.

In the 1960s, casual family dining and chain restaurants began to leave their mark on the restaurant industry. These appealed to the middle class, especially households in which both parents worked. Because of lack of time, more families chose to eat at these types of restaurants, which offered decently priced meals and items for children.

Topic Today

Eating out continued to remain popular throughout the end of the twentieth century. However, as obesity rates began to rise, many people began to focus on healthier options. Restaurants were blamed for serving large portions of foods high in fat and sodium. To combat the criticism, restaurants began to offer healthier options and print nutrition statistics on menus.

Into the twenty-first century, Americans remained focused on health. They also became concerned about where their foods came from and how they were raised, opting for local and organic options when available and passing on overly processed foods. Grass-fed meats became popular, as did superfoods such as kale and quinoa.

Additionally, different types of restaurants emerged such as food trucks, pop-up restaurants, and fast-casual dining options. While food carts existed since ancient times, food trucks began to replace these. They allow chefs to cook foods to order and serve directly from a truck to their customers. They provide food to places where it is not readily available. Into the 2010s, colorful food trucks selling every type of food imaginable continue to line city streets.

Pop-up restaurants also became popular. These allow chefs to establish temporary restaurants in a variety of places from an old building to an established restaurant to a park. Some chefs use them to hone their skills and test new ideas prior to establishing their own restaurants. Chefs typically use social media to inform people of pop-ups and amass a following.

Fast-casual restaurants are a mix of fast-food and sit-down restaurants. They allow customers to order food quickly and offer a sit-down atmosphere without table service. Fast-casual restaurants usually offer better quality and sometimes healthier alternatives to fast-food burgers and fries. They also tend to focus on a particular type of food. While the concept dates back to the 1990s, it did not become popular until the 2000s. Into the 2010s, fast-casual dining remains a popular and fast-growing option for diners and is one of the fastest-growing segments in the restaurant industry.

Bibliography

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"Food Timeline FAQs: Professional Food Service." Food Timeline, www.foodtimeline.org/restaurants.html. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.

Mealey, Lorri. "A History of the Restaurant Part One." Balance, 12 Apr. 2017, www.thebalance.com/a-history-of-the-restaurant-part-one-2888654. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.

Mealey, Lorri. "History of Restaurants Part 3." Balance, 13 Aug. 2016, www.thebalance.com/history-of-restaurants-part-3-2888657. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.

Mealey, Lorri. "The History of Restaurants Part 2." Balance, 16 June 2016, www.thebalance.com/the-history-of-restaurants-part-2-2888665. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.

Mealey, Lorri. "What Is Fast Casual Dining." Balance, 25 Jan. 2017, www.thebalance.com/what-is-fast-casual-dining-2888308. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.

"Test New Ideas with Pop-Up Restaurants." National Restaurant Association, www.restaurant.org/Manage-My-Restaurant/Operations/Alternative-venues/Test-new-ideas-with-pop-up-restaurants. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.

"What's Hot: 2017 Culinary Forecast." National Restaurant Association, www.restaurant.org/Downloads/PDFs/News-Research/WhatsHot/What-s-Hot-2017-FINAL. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.