The concept of "restaurant" as we know it today has had a long way through history. Hundreds of years ago eating out was considered a low-class activity, but little by little the idea that a respectable person could also eat in public was imposed, until it became a cultural experience, a whim of our day to day, and a way to socialize. 

Eating out satisfies needs that seem fundamental to human nature. People need to meet, close deals and see each other. In a good restaurant, it is possible to travel without travelling, or simply feel pampered by the food and the people around us.

This industry has been expanding rapidly for years. In the period 2010-2019, the number of restaurants with license for alcoholic beverages grew in Britain by 26%, for the first time, Americans spent more than half of their total budget for food eating in restaurants, and people with sufficient resources started renting apartments without kitchens.

All of this was interrupted in 2020 with the spread of Covid, creating an unprecedented before and after for the restaurant sector. After a long break, diners were able to meet again and sit at the tables to eat, but with some changes that apparently are going to stay for a long time.

Take away and delivery are expected to consolidate as business models; It is also stipulated that the restaurant of the future will be technological, with artificial intelligence, robotics and digital reality systems; diners will be empowered customers, thanks to the access to information made possible by new technologies; and there will be a commitment to sustainability, transparency and social commitment.

In a few words, digitization, comfort and security will be the three essential components of the restaurant of the future. We believe that despite what the pandemic may cause, the restaurant industry will continue to be a fundamental pillar of society, as it has been for decades.

However, it has not always been this way. Hundreds of years ago there were no restaurants but there were so-called taverns and inns, public places where travellers could rest, eat and drink, without individual tables or menus. Unlike today, these places were not the usual destinations of the wealthiest, since they were only frequented by those who did not have money to buy food and cook at home.

The concept of restaurant was not consolidated until 1765, when Boulanger began to offer in his local in Paris the possibility of eating at individual tables, with a menu with variety and seasonality of dishes, and with lunch and dinner times. From that moment on, many of the chefs who cooked for families of the French aristocracy opened their own businesses, and in this way, restaurants began to proliferate, first in France and then in the rest of Europe; until the concept of restaurant we know today, finally materializes.