Restaurateuse (female restaurateur)
A "restaurateur" is a person who runs a restaurant; the term is neither masculine nor feminine. A "restaurateur" who is a woman is frequently called a "restaurateuse,"…
Roastery
"Coffee roasting" is not new, but the term "roastery" is newly popular. What was once called a "coffeehouse" or a "coffee shop" has often been replaced with…
Rotten Ronnie’s (McDonald’s nickname)
McDonald's fast food restaurants have had a Ronald McDonald clown mascot since 1966. The McDonald's nickname of "Rotten Ronnie's" has been cited in print since at least the…
Sanctuary Restaurant
A "sanctuary restaurant" is based on the concept of a "sanctuary city." The website sanctuaryrestaurants.org, a joint project of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC)…
Scrubway (Subway nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P.Subway Wikipedia: Subway (restaurant)Subway is an American fast food restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches (subs) and salads. It is owned and…
Shadow Kitchen
Online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platforms such as DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates and Uber Eats have resulted in several new terms for restaurants: cloud kitchen, cloud…
Shareable
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)shareable, adj.That may be shared.1920 Q. Rev. July 161 It must be shared or at least must be shareable; otherwise it were nothing at all.1935…
Shitpotle (Chipotle Mexican Grill nickname)
Chipotle Mexican Grill is a chain of restaurants specializing in Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food such as burritos and tacos. Those who don't like the restaurant have nicknamed it…
Siberia (second-class restaurant seating)
Siberia is known as a cold, inhospitable place in Russia; political prisoners were sent to work camps in Siberia and never heard from again. "Siberia," in slang, is any such similar…
Silent Dining
The restaurant Eat, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, began "silent dining" in September 2013. Patrons were required to eat in silence. The term "silent dining" had been cited earlier,…
Singles Bar
New York City can probably take credit for the first "singles bars." in the mid-late 1960s, Friday's and Maxwell's Plum opened on the Upper East Side and were termed…
Sistine Chapel of Comic Strip Art (Overlook bar)
Costello's bar opened in 1974 at 225 East 44th Street (near Third Avenue) in Manhattan. It had murals by
SMOG Pizza (Sausage-Mushrooms-Onions-Green Peppers)
Larry Goldberg (1934-2003) founded Goldberg's Pizzeria in New York City. A favorite dish was the "SMOG" pizza, standing for Sausage-Mushrooms-Onions-Green Peppers. "The biggest…
Smokeasy or Smoke-easy (smoke + speakeasy)
A "speakeasy" was a place where alcoholic drinks were illegally sold. The term "speakeasy" means that customers should inquire secretly about the illegal product;…
Soda Jerk (Soda Jerker)
A "soda jerk" (or "soda jerker") is a person employed behind a soda fountain, "jerking" the fountain spigot to make a soda or an ice cream soda or other such drinks.…
Soupervisor (soup + supervisor)
"Soupervisor" (soup + supervisor) is a portmanteau that has been used since at least the 1960s. The poem 'THE SOUPervisor" was printed in the Fort Lauderdale (FL) News on July…
Spaghetteria (restaurant serving spaghetti)
A "spaghetteria" is an eating establishment that serves spaghetti. The term might have started in New York City. The New York (NY) Evening Post stated in 1928: "The cafeteria started…
Speakeasy (Speak-easy)
The "speakeasy" (also written as "speak-easy" and "speak easy") began in the United States in 1889 in Pennsylvania and referred to an unlicensed saloon. The customers…
Spice Mecca (Kalustyan’s nickname)
Kalustyan’s, located at 123 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, opened in 1944 and has specialized in Indian and Middle Eastern spices and foods. The store was called the "spice mecca in…
St. Arbucks (“Starbucks” joke)
Starbucks is a popular chain of coffeehouses. It's sometimes joked that the patron saint of coffee is "St. Arbucks." A "St. Arbucks" has been shown on images and was posted…