Communal Dining Seating: Why 90% of Gen Z Enjoy Them
Term: Shared tables.
Look: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.
The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen
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, versus just six in ten of older generations".
A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today
Group dining 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.
I Suppose It Made Sense During Times of Rationing, What's the Appeal Today?
This might seem strange to you, I know, but communal tables can be fun! As the Resy CEO notes: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"
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 of their reel while eating a salad? Consider this: young adults – the most digitally connected group, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. This same desire driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings 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 many youths feel isolated (Nearly half of them, according to 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 past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?
I Suppose. Studies Indicate People Who Eat Socially More Often Feel Happier
Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus the Resy survey highlights an additional benefit: 14% of survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a communal dining experience. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meet-cute".
I Hate That Pun Almost as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.
Mission accomplished.
Do say: "Young adults believe shared meals are a total success."
Don’t say: "Things are fine until food spills on your vintage clothes."
