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I'm not sure about that. Since ancient times there were places where you could pay for food, but that was always a side business of an establishment whose main

I'm not sure about that. Since ancient times there were places where you could pay for food, but that was always a side business of an establishment whose main purpose was either (a) selling alcohol (or, in some places, coffee or tea) or (b) providing lodging for travelers. I suspect that an establishment whose main purpose is selling food to order may be a fairly recent innovation.

thaumasiotes 2y ago
> I suspect that an establishment whose main purpose is selling food to order may be a fairly recent innovation. It's not; every city has always had them. Food is actually far more important than alcohol is.
neitsa 2y ago
Not sure if it would fit the definition of a restaurant we have today but a thermopolium was a shop where you would buy food. I'm not sure how widespread the concept was, though. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermopolium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermopolium
burkaman 2y ago
It is pretty well accepted that Pompeii had businesses that primarily served prepared food (https://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/the-ancient-snack-bar-of-regio-v-resurfaces-in-its-entirety-with-scenes-of-still-life-food-residues-animal-bones-and-victims-of-the-eruption/ https://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/the-ancient-snack-bar...), so they are at least 2000 years old. Also, a business that sells meals and also sells lodging or coffee is definitely still a restaurant.
peterlada 2y ago
Coffee is Ethiopia, came with the Ottomans to Europe, tea came from Chine with the British or the Silk Road. Either of them post dates the Romans.
chongli 2y ago
Street food vendors go back millennia. They’ve never been called restaurants but they’ve always been in the primary business of selling food. The main difference a restaurant brings is the addition of a seating / dining space. I strongly doubt that extra space for patrons to eat is a recent innovation.
CRConrad 2y ago
> Since ancient times there were places where you could pay for food, but that was always a side business of an establishment I don't think that's correct: They've excavated fast-food joints from under the ashes of Pompeii. There's nothing to say a business like that needs to be a side hustle of anything else.

thaumasiotes 2y ago

> I suspect that an establishment whose main purpose is selling food to order may be a fairly recent innovation. It's not; every city has always had them. Food is actually far more important than alcohol is.

neitsa 2y ago

Not sure if it would fit the definition of a restaurant we have today but a thermopolium was a shop where you would buy food. I'm not sure how widespread the concept was, though. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermopolium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermopolium

burkaman 2y ago

It is pretty well accepted that Pompeii had businesses that primarily served prepared food (https://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/the-ancient-snack-bar-of-regio-v-resurfaces-in-its-entirety-with-scenes-of-still-life-food-residues-animal-bones-and-victims-of-the-eruption/ https://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/the-ancient-snack-bar...), so they are at least 2000 years old. Also, a business that sells meals and also sells lodging or coffee is definitely still a restaurant.

peterlada 2y ago

Coffee is Ethiopia, came with the Ottomans to Europe, tea came from Chine with the British or the Silk Road. Either of them post dates the Romans.

chongli 2y ago

Street food vendors go back millennia. They’ve never been called restaurants but they’ve always been in the primary business of selling food. The main difference a restaurant brings is the addition of a seating / dining space. I strongly doubt that extra space for patrons to eat is a recent innovation.

CRConrad 2y ago

> Since ancient times there were places where you could pay for food, but that was always a side business of an establishment I don't think that's correct: They've excavated fast-food joints from under the ashes of Pompeii. There's nothing to say a business like that needs to be a side hustle of anything else.