Communal Restaurant Seating: Why 90% of Gen Z Like Them
Term: Communal tables.
Look: Long, uncomfortable and back in fashion.
The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the School Canteen
What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, apparently. Research indicates from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they enjoy communal tables, versus just six in ten of older generations".
A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today
Communal eating in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the WWII, in fact – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.
I Suppose It Made Sense When Food Was Scarce, But Why Do It Now?
This might seem strange to 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 An Interrupted Meal by Someone Explaining Loudly That Their Therapist Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”
Or sitting beside a fitness enthusiast eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally in their video while eating a salad? You have to remember: young adults – the most digitally connected group, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom started careers remotely – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.
I Prefer Dining in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.
You might not fancy it, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). A recent American study a third of males aged between 18 to 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and sharing meals with new people?
Perhaps. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially Report Greater Happiness
Talking to strangers is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a communal dining experience. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a unplanned "meet-cute".
That Joke Annoys Me Nearly as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.
My work here is done.
Do say: "Gen Z think communal dining ate and left no crumbs."
Inappropriate remark: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."
