Food court
Encyclopedia
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area
within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping mall
s and airport
s, and in various regions (such as Asia and Africa) may be a standalone development. In some places of learning such as high schools and universities, food courts have also come to replace or complement traditional cafeteria
s.
The average cost of a meal per person in an American food court in 2004 was $6.
are sometimes utilized to avoid the necessity of providing both forks
and spoons
. Typical North American
and Europe
an food courts have mostly fast food chains such as McDonald's
and Sbarro
, with perhaps a few smaller private vendors. Cuisines and choices are varied, with larger food courts offering more global choices. Asian and African food courts are mostly private vendors that offer local cuisine. In Singapore
, food courts and hawker centers are the people's main eating choice when dining out. Many food courts have several shops which sell prepared meals for shoppers to take home and reheat, making the food court a daily stop for some shoppers.
Common materials used in constructing food courts are tile
, linoleum
, Formica
, stainless steel
, and glass
, all of which facilitate easy cleanup.
shopping mall in New Jersey
, which opened in March 1974, has been credited as the first successful shopping mall food court. Built by The Rouse Company
, one of the leading mall building companies of the time, it followed an unsuccessful attempt at the Plymouth Meeting Mall
in 1971, which reportedly failed because it was "deemed too small and insufficiently varied."
Common area
A common area is, in real estate or real property law, the "area which is available for use by more than one person..." The common areas are those "within a building that are available for common use by all tenants, groups of tenants and their invitees." In Texas and other parts of the United...
within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s and airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s, and in various regions (such as Asia and Africa) may be a standalone development. In some places of learning such as high schools and universities, food courts have also come to replace or complement traditional cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
s.
The average cost of a meal per person in an American food court in 2004 was $6.
Setup
Food courts consist of a number of vendors at food stalls or service counters. Meals are ordered at one of the vendors and then carried to a common dining area. Food is usually eaten with plastic silverware, and sporksSpork
A spork or a foon is a hybrid form of cutlery taking the form of a spoon-like shallow scoop with three or four fork tines. Spork-like utensils, such as the terrapin fork or ice cream fork, have been manufactured since the late 19th century; patents for spork-like designs date back to at least 1874,...
are sometimes utilized to avoid the necessity of providing both forks
Fork
As a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow tines on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent...
and spoons
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
. Typical North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an food courts have mostly fast food chains such as McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
and Sbarro
Sbarro
Sbarro is a bankrupt chain of pizza restaurants that specializes in traditional Italian cuisine, including its most popular menu item "pizza by the slice." Its headquarters is located in Melville, Huntington, New York.- History :...
, with perhaps a few smaller private vendors. Cuisines and choices are varied, with larger food courts offering more global choices. Asian and African food courts are mostly private vendors that offer local cuisine. In Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, food courts and hawker centers are the people's main eating choice when dining out. Many food courts have several shops which sell prepared meals for shoppers to take home and reheat, making the food court a daily stop for some shoppers.
Common materials used in constructing food courts are tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
, linoleum
Linoleum
Linoleum is a floor covering made from renewable materials such as solidified linseed oil , pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canvas backing; pigments are often added to the materials.The finest linoleum floors,...
, Formica
Formica (plastic)
Formica is a brand of composite materials manufactured by the Formica Corporation now based in Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, a division of the New Zealand company Fletcher Building. In common use, the term refers to the company's classic product, a heat-resistant, wipe-clean, plastic laminate of paper or...
, stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, and glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
, all of which facilitate easy cleanup.
History
The second-floor food court at the Paramus ParkParamus Park
Paramus Park is a shopping center located on From Road in Paramus, New Jersey, United States, sandwiched between Route 17 and the Garden State Parkway, a little more than two miles north of Route 4. The mall is owned by General Growth Properties and offers a Gross leasable area of...
shopping mall in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, which opened in March 1974, has been credited as the first successful shopping mall food court. Built by The Rouse Company
The Rouse Company
The Rouse Company, founded by James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties Inc...
, one of the leading mall building companies of the time, it followed an unsuccessful attempt at the Plymouth Meeting Mall
Plymouth Meeting Mall
The Plymouth Meeting Mall is an shopping mall located in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, approximately west of Philadelphia. The mall is located on Germantown Pike near the Mid-County Interchange, where the Pennsylvania Turnpike crosses the Northeast Extension/Blue Route .Built in 1966, Plymouth...
in 1971, which reportedly failed because it was "deemed too small and insufficiently varied."