Article: “Senior dining rooms rival top restaurants” (Apr.2006)

excerpt:
"Forget that old image of retirement homes serving Jell-O and soup. Today's healthier and wealthier retirees demand better, even gourmet, food. There's a growing trend toward a new class of high-end retirement communitiesDinner serves a social function at these communities.

"They look forward to it all day,'' says Mary Quinlan, sales and marketing director for the Peninsula Regent, a 10-story retirement complex in San Mateo. "It's their primary source of nutrition, but it's also a time for socialization. It's a real form of entertainment.''

Joe Tanton, the director of dining services/executive chef for Los Gatos Meadows, just finished an afternoon wine tasting for residents. "It's a lot of their social life,'' he says. "We want to make sure their dining experience is as if they were going out to a fine restaurant and paying for it.''

"Your food service can make or break a community. Good-quality food is very important,'' says Sara Staton, director of resident services at Tryon Estates in Columbus, N.C. Like other upscale retirement communities, it constantly updates its food. As Staton talks, her chef is off training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y."

source: "Senior dining rooms rival top restaurants" by Mark Whittington (Apr.19,2006)

WaiterBell Angle: Dining rooms in senior communities are another example of full-service restaurant style venues found in non-traditional settings. The WaiterBell system provides a service safety net for diners and waitstaff in any dining experience with full table service.

One more example of full table service in a non-traditional setting are railroad dining cars.

excerpt:
"The restaurant service provided by rail operator 'one” has been rated the best on the UK network in a new survey.

“We have worked consistently to deliver a high-quality, but good value service, always looking for ways to improve our standards. We have the best breakfast selection of any UK train operator, as well as offering excellent choices throughout the day, for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner,” he said."

source: "Number one nosh from 'one'" (Eastern Daily Press, Apr.13, 2006)