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Solo dining on the rise in NYC
Well, a lot of us may think of dining out as something that we do with our family and friends. However, more people are opting to use a solo meal as a chance to relax and recharge. FOX 5 NY's Kendall Green looks at how restaurants are adapting to this popular trend.
NEW YORK CITY - A trip to the gym, to the hairdresser or some spur of the moment shopping makes sense when it comes to getting some alone time, but more people are broadening their list of things to do alone to include dining.
On OpenTable, reservations for solo diners rose by 8% for a solid year through May 31, compared to the 12 months before.
The restaurant reservation booking platform surveyed 2,000 consumers over the summer and found 60% of people dined alone in the past year, including 68% of Gen Z and Millennials.
"I think everyone should be traveling by themselves. It’s sort of the greatest personal growth I’ve ever had traveling by oneself," said Christina Ford.
The freelance writer and blogger travels all the time and gets it, but she found restaurants in Europe weren’t as friendly to her dining preferences as she'd hoped.
"They say they don’t want a single person who’s going to drink or eat half, taking up a table for two, regardless of the timing," she recalled.
But in the United States, a record 30% of Americans live alone, choosing to marry later and less. Stats show Americans married with kids are down from 67% in 1970.
FOX 5 NY's Kendall Green asked a couple of solo diners what triggers the trend and, for them, it's more about the restaurant and staff that makes them feel at home. Ford, though, found hope that other restaurants could soon be viewing parties of one – in a different light.
"I sat down and I ordered my meal by myself and a few minutes later the server came over with a glass of champagne and I said I didn’t order this, and she said this is what we do for the solo diners," she shared.