RESTAURANT TRIVIA

As of May 2016 there were 2,564,610 waiters and waitresses in the U.S. workforce.
There were 3,426,090 combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food in the U.S. workforce. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Americans spend about $1.7 billion per day on restaurant food. (2012)

According to the Michelin Guide (2008) there are about 160,000 restaurants in Tokyo, Japan. Compare that to about 23,000 in New York City and 20,000 in Paris. Tokyo has 191 Michelin stars, while Paris has only 98 stars total and New York has 54.

According to the National Restaurant Association there were about 925,000 foodservice locations in the U.S. in 2006, with sales of over $510 billion.

In 2005 Americans spent more than 47% of their food dollars eating out.

The restaurant industry is the largest employer in the U.S. (other than government), employing about 12 1/2 million people. (2006)

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are more than 2 million restaurant servers in the U.S. (2006)

There are over 3,000 ethnic restaurants in New York City. (2006)

In 1925 there were about 17,000 restaurants in New York City.

More than 25% of adults in the U.S. had their first job in a restaurant. (2006)

Americans eat almost 30% of their meals away from home each year. (2006)

More than 30% of consumers have used the Internet to check out a restaurants menu in 2006.

The country whose residents eat at sit down restaurants the least is Russia - Russians eat at restaurants an average of 0.3 meals per month. Residents of Hong Kong eat out at sit down restaurants the most at 8.7 meals per month.

The first restaurant, by that name, was opened in in 1765 by Parisian soup maker M. Boulanger. His was the first establishment to offer a menu with a choice of dishes. Nothing is known about M. Boulanger (some say A. Boulanger), and this may not be his name, but simply his occupation (boulanger means baker). See also Boulanger in Who’s Who

First restaurant chain in the U.S. was the Harvey Houses, that started in 1876 to serve railroad travelers.

The most popular day to eat out in the U.S. is Saturday. Second is Friday, third is Sunday. Monday is the slowest day for restaurants.

Seattle is home to the second revolving restaurant, built in 1961. The world's first revolving restaurant was the La Ronde Restaurant built in 1961 atop the Ala Moana building fronting the Ala Moana shopping center. (The restaurant has since closed down.)

Macao and Woosung, founded by Chinese immigrant Norman Asing in 1849 is the first recorded Chinese restaurant in the U.S.

Salmon and shrimp are the most popular seafoods in American restaurants. In 2001, shrimp replaced canned tuna as America's favorite seafood overall.

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