Do you know the business idea that ensures 100 percent success in Jeddah? It is opening a food outlet! In a booming or a slowing economy, in an upscale or a middle-class area, restaurants are there to stay, to make profits and to be part of the heart and soul of this city, and its people.
Dining in or from restaurants is not a choice of convenience anymore; it has become a way of life. The traditional Saudi pride in their homemade food is fading. Stories about how talented the lady of the house is in cooking have become history now. Any family gathering or a special occasion is no longer filled with food freshly coming out of the home oven, but with food bought from a restaurant.
Although to some people it is witnessing a cherished tradition going downhill, generalizing a label of good or bad on this trend is misleading. The decision to dine out, whether you can or cannot cook at home, is based on your personal freedom, in itself, it is not right or wrong, but when analyzed, it could tell something about you, about the society.
I have to say that opening of a big dining complex just opposite my workplace prompted me to write this article. From day one, this complex became the talk of the town. And since it is located directly on the route of my daily commute, I observe queues of people day or night, waiting for hours to try one of the new restaurants in the complex. At first I took it lightly, as I can understand the influence of brands on consumers and the excitement that accompanies new experiences even if it was trying an international restaurant for the first time. But as the days passed, the queues continued to grow. The charm of the new restaurants is no longer able to explain the phenomenon.
There are many reasons that contributed to the change in lifestyle that made dinning out a very popular choice. After a long day of work, kids returning hungry from schools and the idea of preparing meals at home sound no less challenging than the idea of climbing Mount Everest. The need to change scenery from time to time, to create special memories for special occasions are all part of the new rhythm of the modern lifestyle we share with the rest of the world. What is a bit special about our situation is that going to restaurants has become of source of entrainment apparently due to few alternatives.
Do you wish me to prove my point? Think of three things you can do to entertain yourself or your family tonight. I can guarantee that restaurants would be one, if not all, of your choices. You decided to visit a family or a friend’s home; most probably you will be ordering meals at home. You thought about going to the mall, passing by the food court must’ve been in your plan. Or maybe your choice was simply going to a restaurant.
The sad truth is that totally submitting to such lifestyle is not without complications; there is the obvious overdoses of fat, salt and sugar, the mental image we create and implant in our kids that a leisure time is not complete without a table full of food, the huge and uncontrolled waste usually coming out of these restaurants and its effects on the environment.
Let us admit, we have very few entrainment options and dinning out is on the top of the list. I believe that using this reasoning, we can understand the long queues waiting to try a new restaurant. It is not the food; it is just a social phenomenon.
@ smaldosari
