Pop-up restaurant

Pop-up restaurants, also called supper clubs, are temporary restaurants. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory or similar space, and during festivals.

Description

Pop-up restaurants have been popular since the 2000s in Britain and Australia but they are not a new phenomenon. Pop-up restaurants have existed in the United States and Cuba.^[1] Diners typically make use of social media, such as the blogosphere and Twitter, to follow the movement of these restaurants and make online reservations.^[2]

Pop-up restaurants, like food trucks, are an effective way for young professionals to gain exposure of their skills in the field of hospitality as they seek investors and attention pursuant to opening a restaurant or another culinary concept.^[3]

Pop-up restaurants have been hailed as useful for younger chefs, allowing them to utilize underused kitchen facilities and "experiment without the risk of bankruptcy".^[2] By 2013, this restaurant style had gained steam and prevalence in larger cities thanks in part to crowd-funding efforts that offered the short-term capital needed to fund start-up costs.^[4]

Notable entrepreneurs, chefs, and restaurateurs have opened pop-up restaurants:

• Jason Atherton^[5]
• Camille Becerra^[6]
• Thomas Keller^[7]
• Pierre Koffmann^[8]
• Ludo Lefebvre^[9]
• Alan Philips ^{[6][10][11][12][13]}
• Stephen Starr ^[11]

Restaurant Day

Differently from traditional pop-up restaurants, which tend to financially support their restaurateurs as means of profit or living, the Restaurant Day event (Finnish: Ravintolapäivä) invites people to put up their own restaurants, cafés and bars for one day only. Founded by Timo Santala, Olli Sirén and Antti Tuomola in Helsinki, Finland, in 2011, the movement is intended to promote and celebrate food culture.^[14]

Restaurant Day takes place worldwide four times a year, and over over 24 800 one-day restaurants by about 100 000 restaurateurs have catered for estimated 2.8 million customers in 74 countries.

• 21 May 2011: 45 restaurants, 13 cities
• 18 August 2011: 190 restaurants, 30+ cities, 4 countries
• 19 November 2011: 287 restaurants, 40+ cities, 2 countries
• 4 February 2012: 304 restaurants, 50+ cities, 12 countries
• 19 May 2012: 711 restaurants, 90+ cities, 19 countries
• 19 August 2012: 784 restaurants, 100+ cities, 17 countries
• 17 November 2012: 702 restaurants, 130+ cities, 25 countries
• 17 February 2013: 629 restaurants, 130+ cities, 31 countries

• 18 May 2013: 1701 restaurants in 30 countries
• 18 August 2013: 1683 restaurants in 35 countries
• 16 November 2013: 1383 restaurants in 31 countries
• 16 February 2014: 1210 restaurants in 27 countries
• 17 May 2014: 2724 restaurants in 35 countries
• 17 August 2014: 2017 restaurants in 30 countries
• 15 November 2014: 1698 restaurants in 35 countries
• 15 February 2015: 1375 restaurants in 34 countries
• 16 May 2015: 2497 restaurants in 34 countries
• 16 August 2015: 2042 restaurants in 29 countries
• 21 November 2015: 1627 restaurants in 32 countries
• 21 February 2016: 1245 restaurants in 29 countries^[15]

One-day restaurants have so far popped up in many different countries including Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, Venezuela and USA.

Some web portals, such as TurtleMeet.com, bonappetour.com and mealtango.com, facilitate popups for amateur chefs. TurtleMeet provides support to pop-up chefs, and acts to promote and connect pop-ups with hungry diners.^[16] BonAppetour and MealTango connects people looking for authentic home-cooked meals with hosts who cook and serve such meals in their homes, through a common online platform.^[17][18]

See also

• Pop-up shop
• Flash mob

References

1. "Everyone back to mine: Pop-up restaurants in private homes are the latest foodie fad". The Independent. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
2. "At Pop-Ups, Chefs Take Chances With Little Risk", Gregory Dicum, New York Times, February 11, 2010
3. Sarah Schindler, Unpermitted Urban Agriculture: Transgressive Actions, Changing Norms, and the Local Food Movement, 2014 Wisconsin Law Review 369, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2414016
4. "New Trend: Pop-up Restaurants Selling Tickets". ThunderTix. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
5. "Jason Atherton Pop-up Restaurant", PKL, Pop-up restaurants website, January 30, 2011
6. "Born to eat and run", Brian Niemietz, New York Post, May 6, 2010
7. "French Laundry's Thomas Keller Opens Ad Lib Pop-Up - BiteClub Wine Country Dining". BiteClub Restaurants Dining and Food. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
8. "London’s Pop-Up Restaurants Let Rising Chefs Shine"
9. "'Pop-Up' Restaurant LudoBites Hit Of Los Angeles", Alex Cohen, Southern California Public Radio, NPR, August 23, 2010
10. "So You Want To Open A Pop-Up Restaurant", Alan Phillips, Zagat, March 2, 2011
11. "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?", Danielle Stein, W Magazine, September 2010
12. "Dining Calendar", Florence Fabricant, New York Times, October 12, 2010
13. "THE RULES OF MAGIC". THE RULES OF MAGIC. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
14. "Restaurant Day is a carnival of food". Visithelsinki.fi. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
15. "Restaurant Day · More about Restaurant Day". www.restaurantday.org. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
16. "TurtleMeet: What is a Pop-up". www.turtlemeet.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
17. "Craving for home-cooked food? A social meal is your answer". http://www.hindustantimes.com/. Retrieved 30 July 2015. External link in |work= (help)
18. Burgos, Annalisa (26 January 2015). "Dining With Strangers".

External links

• Food Trend Predictions For 2011. Epicurious.