Communal Dining Seating: Why 90% of Gen Z Enjoy This Trend

Name: Communal tables.

Look: Lengthy, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Long Benches is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "Nine out of ten of gen Z diners say they like shared seating, versus just 60% of boomers".

A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today

Communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a major trend during the WWII, actually – there were about 2,500 of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

I Suppose It Made Sense When Food Was Scarce, What's the Appeal Today?

This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO notes: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The “Fun” of Having Dinner Interrupted by A Loud Conversation That Their Therapist Revealing They Are an Empath

Or being squeezed next to a fitness enthusiast eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally of their reel as they massacre a salad? Consider this: gen Z – the most online generation, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – enjoy organized group events. This same desire behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

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, as per an Oxfam study published in June). A recent American study a third of males 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?

I Suppose. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is good for us, 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 "meet-cute".

I Hate That Pun Nearly as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.

Mission accomplished.

Appropriate comment: "Gen Z think communal dining ate and left no crumbs."

Don’t say: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."