According to a survey, more and more Americans believe that eating out at a restaurant is like having company.
Eating alone in restaurants is booming: According to the reservation platform OpenTable, the number of reservations for individuals in American restaurants has increased by 29% in the last two years.
And this is not just true for the USA. The number of people eating alone is also on the rise worldwide, for example in the UK, where the number has increased by 14% this year alone, or in Germany, where there was an increase of 18%.
There is also an increase in Japan: the Hot Pepper Gourmet Eating Out Research Institute there found that about 23% of people regularly eat out alone, compared to 18% six years ago.
“I think there’s a broader movement of self-love and self-care and enjoying your own company,” OpenTable CEO Debby Soo told ABC News, adding that the rise of telecommuting could also reinforce that trend.
Anna Mattila, a professor at Pennsylvania State University who has studied the issue of eating alone, also believes the pandemic may have contributed by normalizing lonely behavior while smartphones can keep people connected.
“Social norms have changed. People no longer see people eating alone and think, ‘You must be a loner,'” she said.
Whatever the motivation, restaurants grow to meet the demands of the market.
Avant Garden, the upscale vegan restaurant in the East Village, hired restaurant consulting group Lightspeed to adapt the space and menu to meet the needs of solo travelers—who, according to restaurant owner Drew Brady, make up about 8% of their clientele.
The restaurant now has a large table reserved specifically for solo travelers, where they can enjoy a four-course meal for $65 for one person, and if solo travelers order a cocktail, the bartender will prepare it with them at the table.
Brady, whose restaurant group Overthrow Hospitality operates 11 vegan restaurants across New York City, sees solo dining as an investment in repeat customers.
“While there may be some short-term losses there, I think we are planning for the long term and want to establish ourselves as a really special place,” he told ABC.
The trend started after the pandemic, Brady said, adding that the gender split among solo diners is fairly even.
For those who are afraid of having to eat alone, Houston restaurant critic Shawn Singh, who says he eats out alone 70% of the time, recommends eating there for lunch or an early dinner on weekdays.
“When I go alone at 5pm, I have never been turned away,” Singh told ABC.
But for Jill Weber, founder of the Sojourn Philly dining group, which always reserves communal tables for solo diners at events, the intimidation of dining alone in a restaurant is part of the thrill.
“Sometimes it feels brave,” she said.
