People come in all sizes, large and small. And in these days of increasing obesity among Americans, the range seems to be shifting toward the “plus-sized” end of the spectrum.
So, what’s a business that deals with seating any customers who might walk in — like a restaurant — to do to account for that fact?
This year the New York Times ran an interesting article about the challenges that “plus-sized” diners face when they go out to eat. They not only feel judged by restaurant staff and other patrons about what they are ordering in view of their weight, they also struggle to find places where they can comfortably sit for a meal. Depending upon a diner’s size, booths may be impossible for them to squeeze into, and bar stools may be too narrow and shallow to provide a viable seating option. And places where the tables are positioned closely together may put larger diners in the position of intruding into the personal space of a neighboring table.
Those of us who aren’t in the plus-sized category don’t pay attention to such issues, because standard seating options are perfectly suitable for us. But for the large people among us, such options may be so painfully confining that they interfere with the enjoyment of the meal — and some options may be physically impossible to use, period.
It’s an example of the challenges that are arising from the plus-sizing of a significant chunk of America’s population. People who are XXXLers are going to want to go out to eat like everybody else, and they are going to want to find places that can appropriately seat diners their size. If restaurants want their paying business, they are going to need to come up with ways to comfortably accommodate such patrons — without calling undue attention to the effort.
Webner House 