A restaurant is a business establishment that serves meals to the public. Food restores the human body, so the place which serves food was named from the French word restaurer, meaning to restore.
In the 1600's, men gathered at the local inn to talk over the affairs of the world. They found that food and drink encouraged conversation. Through conversation, they learned of other cities and other countries, and gained new ideas. Gradually the eating part of the inn, called a tavern, began serving persons who were not staying at the inn. In time the tavern became a separate business. In England it was called a coffeehouse, and in France a cafe, meaning coffee.
The word restaurant was not used until after about 1750. At first it referred only to the eating section of a hotel, or to a coffeehouse patronized by the rich. But by the 1900's, the name had come to be used for several types of eating places. Today it is applied to almost any place that serves food and beverages.
