History of Restaurant Industry / All day dining

8 century BC
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In Ancient Rome, thermopolia were small restaurant-bars which offered food and drinks to the customer. A typical thermopolium had L-shaped counters into which large storage vessels were sunk, which would contain either hot or cold food. They are linked to the absence of kitchens in many dwellings and the ease with which people could purchase prepared foods. Besides, eating out was also considered an important aspect of socialising.
11 century
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Food catering establishments which may be described as restaurants were known since the 11th century in Kaifeng, China's northern capital during the first half of the Song Dynasty (960 1279). With a population of over 1,000,000 people, a culture of hospitality and a paper currency, Kaifeng was ripe for the development of restaurants. Probably growing out of the tea houses and taverns that catered to travellers, Kaifeng's restaurants blossomed into an industry catering to locals as well as people from other regions of China.Restaurants catered to different styles of cuisine, price brackets, and religious requirements. Even within a single restaurant much choice was available, and people ordered the entree they wanted from written menus.
16 century
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The word restaurant (from the French restaurer= to restore) appeared for the first time in XVI century, and its meaning was food that refresh , referring especially to a rich and refined tasty soup.

1725

The oldest restaurant still open today is considered to be Botin , located in Madrid, Spain. It was opened in 1725.

Sobrino de

1765

The modern meaning of the word restaurant was born in 1765, when a Parisian chef named Boulanger opened a catering activity.

1782

The forgotten inventor was Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau, the son of a landowner and merchant, Roze moved to Paris in the early 1760s and began floating a variety of schemes he believed would enrich him and his country at the same time.

The first restaurant that adopted a standard structure ( customers sitting at their own tables with their own dishes, the possibility to choose them from menus in specific opening times) was the Grande Taverne de Londres , founded in 1782 in Paris by Antoine Beauvillier.