Yesterday, the CBS Sunday Morning Show featured a segment on redefining dining where malls are redesigning empty space into dining destinations. Often, in these spaces, people who don't know each other sit together. The above photo features the chef cooking at Sapporo Fantasy Japanese Steak and Seafood House.
Sapporo, located on North Battleground Avenue in the same plaza as EarthFare, has been open for at least a couple of decades. They have seating people the communal dining format long before it was trending. Usually 8-10 people are seated around the hibachi grill and the chef comes in and performs his culinary magic for the whole table. By the end of the meal, chances are everyone at the table enjoyed the evening. Also, it is very likely someone is having a birthday. The crew will come out and sing for you.
Even though we don't have a destination food hall yet, it is nice to have places like Sapporo where eating together makes people more inclined to enjoy the experience and talk, rather than being on their phones. As they say in Japanese, before eating a meal, Itadakimasu!
A different concept to my mind.
Posted by: William Kendall | Monday, November 25, 2019 at 07:05 PM