Cafeteria Table
Although you always eat lunch within the cafeteria of your college or workplace, you probably have absolutely no idea where the cafeteria table originally comes from, and the entire history of the cafeteria itself. The word “cafeteria” can be translated into “coffeehouse” from the Spanish, even though the cafeterias we know today are not the same as coffee shops at all, in that in cafeterias, there is no service by a waitress, instead you get your own food and drinks. Other more common names for a cafeteria are a dining hall or a canteen, where you will stand in line to collect the food you wish to consume that day, and you will either pay for that exact food after you have received it, or else just pay a general rate to eat whatever you desire.
The cafeteria table, along with the entire cafeteria culture of self service was quite a profitable restaurant business quite some time ago throughout the United States, with examples like Apple House, Blue Boar, Bickford’s and K&W, to name a few. Although these cafeteria-style restaurants were immensely popular, they slowly went out of business with the emergence of fast-food restaurants. The initial idea of a cafeteria began in Los Angeles towards the end of the 19th century, when the many Mexican immigrants brought the concept across to the States. The idea of self-service food was dramatically enhanced in the United States, and California in particular, when ideas were taken from the factory assembly lines in use at this time – allowing an easy, streamlined and effective way of serving food. At this time, both Mexican and standard American dishes were served in these new cafeterias.
At this time, there were an enormous amount of cafeterias in Los Angeles, with queues of people waiting for a seat at a cafeteria table in the restaurant, as everyone wanted to experience this new sort of restaurant. The concept soon stuck in the military, although they are called mess halls, they are exactly the same as a standard cafeteria or dining hall. Other places where a cafeteria exists, but is called by a different name, is within a monastery or a boarding school, where the dining hall is known as a refectory. Many shopping malls today have food courts, which are very similar to cafeterias, although many separate establishments serve food there, including fast food joints – but there is still a centralized area, where everyone can sit and eat their take-away items.
In colleges, there are often many separate cafeterias, depending on where the residence is situated, and often students will sit at a specific cafeteria table, according to their dormitory or residence. In some colleges across the United States, students can actually get part-time jobs working within the cafeteria as a server or clearer for extra money, although many cafeterias prefer to employ outside individuals not part of the college. Some of these cafeterias serve three meals per day, while others serve less, and students can often choose which meals they’d like to eat at the cafeteria, and which they’d prefer to organize for themselves.