Shared Restaurant Tables: Why 90% of Gen Z Like Them
Term: Communal seating arrangements.
Appearance: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.
Communal Dining is Back? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Refectory Tables is the Cafeteria
What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, apparently. According to data from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they enjoy communal tables, compared with just 60% of older generations".
I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today
Communal eating in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the second world war, in fact – there were about 2,500 of them, backed by Winston Churchill.
I Suppose It Made Sense During Times of Rationing, But Why Do It Now?
It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO notes: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "You never know who you’ll be seated next to; that’s the fun of it!"
The Enjoyment From Having Dinner Interrupted by Someone Explaining Loudly About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”
Or being squeezed next to a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background of their reel as they massacre a salad? You have to remember: gen Z – the most online generation, 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 crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.
I’d Rather Eat in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.
This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, as per an Oxfam study released this summer). In a 2023 US report , 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 going out and sharing meals with new people?
Perhaps. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially More Often Feel Happier
Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of 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 Nearly as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.
My work here is done.
Appropriate comment: "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."