Restaurants ?

[Aumtehoutep]

I don't know when historically restaurants stared appearing. I do think this would be a fun and interesting addition to the game.

While citizens would purchase food supplies for thier homes. Restaurants have always been considered a luxury enjoyed by members of every level of society that could afford such.

They could be listed under Entertainment structures. Click on the building and see what the specials are today!

[Keith]

I have seen one program where the examined the ruins of a Roman city and there was apparently some kind of cafeteria style establishment. I don't think it was a wide spread type of commerce.

[Thucydides]

Restaurants are a good concept. However they only emerged in the 18th century. But before then people used to be able to eat in inns (lodging and keep) and taverns (an establishment whose humble origins lie in wine shops). Inns and taverns are perfectly within keeping with the Roman era.

[EmperorJay]

I've always understood that taverns were quite common. Latin even has two words meaning inn/tavern, "caupona" and "taberna". What I was thaught was that the insulae had appartments (housing) on the higher floors and that there where shops and taverns facing the street. These taverns where not restaurants really, but without joking, they might be better compared to the McDonalds and Burger Kings we see these days.

[angelisis]

someone may want to google this....but i saw a doco on pompeii, wich was a roman province and they had like food cafertia like structures preserved. a long bench kinda thing with sevral bases in it that held various foods that people came along and ate....hmmm give me a sec i might google it myself.

found this........
Pompeian Fast Food
The sight of the bar front is a characteristic one for tourists in Pompeii. But what is a bar? Today we have snack bars, salad bars, tapas bars, and so on. All have a counter where food or drink is sold to small informal groups. In ancient Pompeii, L-shaped counters are found in small properties all along the main roads. The frequency of these counters suggests that food, at least for the middle and lower classes, could have been readily bought at these many bars throughout the city.

Relatively few houses in Pompeii have kitchens. The lavish houses of Pompeii, including both the houses in VI,1 have them, but where did the people who lived in smaller houses, in workshops, or in rented quarters buy their food? Where did the traveler en route through Pompeii grab a bite to eat?

There are four of these bar counters in our area. At the front of these counters are small stone shelves. Here the barkeep may have displayed foods, small vessels, or other wares. Bar counters often have a built-in oven or stove, suggesting the sale of cooked or warmed foods. Three of the four bars in VI,1 have stoves like this. Carbonized finds from nearby Herculaneum show that some bars sold dates, lentils, and other foods.

Bar Blueprints
While each bar has a counter, the arrangement of space within the bar varies. Some are small property units--a single room with a counter and a street-side doorway. More generally, bars include small back rooms, and sometimes even second stories. Such is the case in VI,1, and all four of the bars in VI,1 also have toilets. As for the other rooms, perhaps they served as the barkeep's living quarters or simply his storage. Perhaps they were rented spots for travelers to rest. Maybe they were used for gambling and prostitution. The artifacts and ecofacts we uncover in excavation will help us better understand how these rooms were used.

Bar Archaeology in VI,1
Both tourists and archaeologists identify bars by their counters, but the archaeologists' vision looks across time and recognizes that Pompeian street life developed over centuries. The masonry counters we see today in VI,1 come relatively late in Pompeii's history. The marble counter tops were added during the city's last half-century. Yet even before the presence of these stone counters, these spaces already served as bars. Our work has revealed that nearly 200 years before Vesuvius' eruption, open areas were turned into commercial spaces along the western edge of VI,1. By the end of the second century B.C., the property divisions between the grander domestic and the commercial spaces were drawn. High life and low life existed side-by-side. But very definite limits always separated the two. These boundaries were ultimately fossilized in A.D. 79.

http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/pompeii/field/3.html

[arcan]

I saw that too. It was a tavern.

[angelisis]

nah not a tavern...added some stuff arcan....look above :D

[arcan]

d'ont remember the name they called it. but the function was similar : food and drink... lol

[Thucydides]

The place in Pompeii sounds similar to the taverns you find in Rathaus in Germany, room to drink and eat (and, yes, simple foods, like a Roman-era McDonalds).

[Aumtehoutep]

Ok, so for possible new Entertainment Structures that have at least some historical merit we have:

Taverns (food, drinks, performers, gambling)
Inns (food, drinks, lodgings)
Food Vendors (tiny take-out only shacks)

I'm guessing that others think this would be a fantastic addition to Ceasar4 or maybe 5? ... Heheh.

[Thucydides]

... somewhere for poets to perform perchance? :D

[Keith]

someone may want to google this....but i saw a doco on pompeii, wich was a roman province and they had like food cafertia like structures preserved. a long bench kinda thing with sevral bases in it that held various foods that people came along and ate....hmmm give me a sec i might google it myself.


I believe that is what I saw. It was a program about the Roman Empire that I recorded on tape a good 15-20 years ago, and they were examinging the ruins of a city, probably Pompeii. You described the same thing that recall about that serving bench with basins for the food.

[wodinoneeye]

I have seen one program where the examined the ruins of a Roman city and there was apparently some kind of cafeteria style establishment. I don't think it was a wide spread type of commerce.




The food shop in Pompei....

The small corner eatery was common in Roman cities.

Venders in the forum...



A similar thing in Paris today, people live in tiny appartments and go out to eat quite frequently (or takeout). Even more advantageous in an era without refrigerators. If you have to go out to buy fresh food all the time, why not just go out and buy premade food.....

[Kiya]

Taverns (food, drinks, performers, gambling)
Inns (food, drinks, lodgings)
Food Vendors (tiny take-out only shacks)



Inns offer lodgings for merchants. Depending on how the trade will be in C4 inns or similar buildings could be very important. Without lodgings peddlers can't stay in your city.
In CoTN merchants just spent ages in your city but where did they stay? In the former CBs they just came to a warehouse and left right away.

[Aumtehoutep]

yeah Phil I know ...

I had already looked through several of the topics here in the forums to see if anyone had discussed this yet ... and I believe people have already pointed out archeological studies showing that inns, taverns, and yes, food shops were around and common during the Roman era ... so I think they already verified historical availability of these building types

==
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed above are correct, and should not be disputed as they emanate from one who is Righteous and devoid of fault.

[wodinoneeye]

yeah Phil I know ...

I had already looked through several of the topics here in the forums to see if anyone had discussed this yet ... and I believe people have already pointed out archeological studies showing that inns, taverns, and yes, food shops were around and common during the Roman era ... so I think they already verified historical availability of these building types

==
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed above are correct, and should not be disputed as they emanate from one who is Righteous and devoid of fault.


They even had snack shops in the Baths and gymnasiums....