[Tagging] amenity=food_court - some questions

[Greg Troxel]

Martin Koppenhoefer <dieterdreist at gmail.com> writes:

> What are the hard requirements for a food court?

US perspective.


> 1.
> The wiki says it requires "multiple food vendors" and has to do with
> "self-service".
>
> Is "multiple" more than one or more than 2? Is the term "vendor" referring
> to different brands / cuisine types, or to the business structure, in other
> words, if the same vendor (and noone else) has 2-3 counters where different
> food (style, cuisine, brand, etc.) is offered, is it still a food court?

First, ownership of places is not important if they appear to operate
separately when you are standing there.  In US airports, there are often
5 places, all familiar brands, which are normally separate companies,
but they are all operated by https://www.hmshost.com/ under agreement.

2 is iffy.  5+ is more normal.

> 2.
> It also states they are found in "shopping malls, airports or standalone".
>
> Can they occur elsewhere?

standalone means elsewhere :-)

I think part of the nature of food courts is that they are provided to
allow people to eat incident to doing something else.  Shopping malls
and airports are the prime examples.  Basically, if people travel to eat
at a food court as their purpose, it doesn't feel like a food court.

> 3.
> And that they are "usually" indoors. (what climate zone is this referring
> to, or is it everywhere?)

I would say this text is iffy.  But part of the nature of food court is
that it is possible and reasonable to eat at them regardless of the
weather (unless it's "governor says everybody should stay home" kind of
weather).

> 4.
> Is "self-service" a hard requirement, or is table service possible?

I'd say it's not a 100% requirement, but table service seems very very
strange and a clue that it isn't really a food court.  I have *never*
observed this.  Perhaps a real example.

> 5.
> Does it matter whether every business has a dedicated space or customers of
> different businesses can sit mixed on all the tables?

The US norm is a central area with tables and a bunch of counters along
one or both sides.  Not only can customers of different businesses sit
in the same area, but a group of 4 people can each go to 4 different
counters and then sit together.

If there are areas per business that is more like a street that is lined
with cafes that are separate, and in the street I would never call it a
food court, and if I saw that in a shopping mall I might say it's a very
strange food court.  Need a real exampl to discuss further.


Also, food courts are very much tied to the concept of fast food,
although some of the places in food courts might be cafe instead of fast
food.  Yes, this is judgemental, but it's how I see it.  Basically, part
of my concept of food court is that if you are in that place and hungry,
it will do, but it's a non-preferred way of eating.
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