Food courts

The food court is composed of a common seating area ringed by multiple outlets and located in a shopping mall. Originating in the shopping malls of the USA, food courts are now widespread throughout the world.

Food courts first appeared in shopping malls in the mid-1960s in California. Food courts later expanded to other facilities such as train stations, airports, bus stations, supermarkets, sporting venues, large department stores, and service areas on the interstate.

The food court offers many different types of food and drink provided by specialist outlets – noodles from Asia, pizza from Italy, burgers from America, sushi from Japan, curry from India, doughnuts and pretzels.

The early food courts used a cafeteria-based model with trays and self-bussing of tables, all practices drawing on Americans’ new familiarity with fast food outlets. The early food court could be hard to keep clean and was poorly decorated, sterile, harshly lit and extremely noisy.

The concept of the food court was applied to colleges in the early 1990s. Some college food courts permit students to microwave items, go through salad bars, and choose what entrée they prefer.
Food courts