"No piece of restaurant furniture is more controversial than the communal table. You either think it's a fun way to meet new people and embrace the energy of a dining room-or consider it a nightmare of awkward social interaction and unwanted eavesdropping. Communal tables had a moment in the early 2010s, but the trend faced a backlash and then largely faded away."
"Young families like the communal table because it's easy to set up high chairs and strollers. And it has created opportunities for kismet. "Two people had served in the Peace Corps at the same time, at the same place, and didn't know it until they were sitting at the communal table," Datta says. "This happens all the time: Neighbors figure out that they live very close to each other. They end up connecting and becoming friends because of that.""
Communal tables provoke polarized views as either sociable and energetic or awkward and intrusive. Communal tables peaked in the early 2010s and then declined after a backlash. A Resy survey found 90 percent of Gen‑Zers enjoy communal dining versus 60 percent of boomers; one in three respondents made a new friend and one in seven scored a date. Restaurateur Dante Datta installed a 20‑seat communal table at Tapori and observed younger diners more open to it, while older customers sometimes reacted negatively. Patrons have grown more amenable over time. Designer Brian Miller says communal tables suit only about 5 percent of spaces and should be long enough to hold multiple conversations.
Read at Washingtonian - The website that Washington lives by.
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