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| People enjoy a meal at shabu-shabu restaurant Cheiljemyunso located at International Finance Center Mall in Yeouido. The restaurant, run by CJ Foodville, set up a bar equipped with individual burners to better accommodate solo diners. / Courtesy of CJ Foodville |
Restaurants offer small-portion menu, change store layout to draw single diners
By Lee Hyo-sik
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"I don't cook at home because there is no point making food for one person. Preparing meals at home costs more than dining out," Lee said. "Besides, I would rather spend time watching television or surfing the Internet than cooking."
On weekdays, he has lunch and sometimes dinner with his colleagues, but it is a different story on the weekends.
"I have no one to dine out with on Saturdays or Sundays unless I meet with friends. So, I usually go to small eateries in the neighborhood selling instant noodles, gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) and other simple dishes," Lee said. "I also go to a convenience store to buy lunchboxes or sandwiches or have Chinese food delivered to my place. But the thing is I sometimes want to eat well-prepared dishes at nice restaurants by myself."
However, he is reluctant to go to restaurants alone because most of them are designed for group diners, not for those eating alone.
"Even if people eating alone has become common these days, it is still difficult for me. Whenever I went to a family restaurant or other places that serve nice meals, all the other diners ate in groups. I was the only one who came alone," Lee said. "I was uncomfortable occupying a table set for four people and I got the feeling that restaurant employees didn't want to serve me. I just want to eat what I want to in a comfortable setting without feeling guilty or intimidated."
Like Lee, a growing number of people living alone are looking for places where they can enjoy meals at ease.
Some restaurants have responded to their needs by introducing small portion dishes and redesigning store layouts to make it more comfortable for people to come in and dine solo.
According to Statistics Korea, the number of single-member households reached 4.71 million in 2013, accounting for 25.9 percent of the total, up from 23.9 percent in 2010 and 20 percent in 2005. The ratio is projected to rise to 27.1 percent in 2015 and 35.3 percent in 2035.
The statistics office said many young adults are delaying marriage and choosing to live alone owing to financial difficulties in the wake of the tight job market, among other reasons, and more single women are living on their own amid the rising divorce rate.
A growing number of senior citizens also make up single-member households amid the rapidly aging population, it added.
Single-person households account for a significant portion of domestic consumption and thus, it is no surprise that restaurants are cashing in on this lucrative market.
These households spent a combined 60 trillion won ($57 billion) on various goods and services in 2010, accounting for 11.1 percent of Korea's entire private consumption, according to the statistics office.
In 2020, the figure is expected to reach 120 trillion won, accounting for 16 percent of the total.
Targeting people dining alone
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| TGI Fridays' Simple Meal is designed to attract people dining alone. / Courtesy of TGI Fridays |
TGI Fridays, one of the major family restaurant chains in the country, introduced the Simple Meal in February to attract more solo customers.
"It is not easy for people to come to family restaurants and eat by themselves because most diners come in groups and menu items are served in big portions," TGI Fridays spokesman Oh Tek-yong said. "But to better serve people dining solo at our restaurants, we introduced two Simple Meal dishes on Feb. 7. Customer response has been very positive."
The franchise offers a dish consisting of shrimp fried rice with grilled steak and salad for 15,000 won and a dish of fried pork steak with salad and potatoes for 13,000 won.
"The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said early this year one of the hot food trends in 2014 will be the emergence of one-person menus. We also think more Koreans will dine solo in line with the rising number of single-member households," Oh said. "We will continue to introduce more menu items and change store interiors for solo customers."
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| Lotteria, a home-grown hamburger franchise run by Lotte Group, reduces the number of conventional four-people tables to make more room for bar tables to accommodate customers dining out alone. / Courtesy of Lotteria |
Lotteria, a home-grown hamburger franchise, has reduced the number of four-people tables at its stores across the country to make room for more bar tables to accommodate customers visiting alone.
"In February, we renovated the store layout to create a solo-customer friendly dining environment. As in coffee houses, students and salaried workers can stay longer and work on something while eating at a bar table," said Oh who also represents Lotteria. "People living alone also tend to order home deliveries. To target those seeking to enjoy a variety of our dishes, we recently introduced the new delivery menu items Home Single Set, consisting of a hanwoo burger, French fries, two pieces of fried chicken strips and soda, priced at 9,400 won." Hanwoo is Korea's native cattle and source of domestically produced beef.
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| Pizza Hut offers the Smart Lunch Pizza, priced at 5,900 won each, for customers dining out alone. Four types of small-size pizzas are available from 11 a.m. through 5 p.m. / Courtesy of Pizza Hut |
Pizza Hut, one of Korea' largest pizza franchises, has also jumped on the bandwagon to boost sales from the growing number of single-person households by introducing a series of small-size pizzas.
"Pizza Hut launched the one-person pizza in 2007, the first franchise to do so. In December 2013, we began offering four types of small pizzas, called Smart Lunch Pizzas," company PR manager Kim Yea-hyun said. "The Smart Lunch Pizza has been popular with students and salaried workers seeking to get a quick bite at an affordable price. The majority of them visit our stores by themselves."
The company sells Smart Lunch Pizzas at 5,900 won each from 11 a.m. through 5 p.m.
Kim said pizzas used to be too large for one person to consume. But to serve the growing number of solo customers, Pizza Hut decided to reduce the size of its pizzas.
"The popularity of small-size pizzas reflects changes in Korea's demographics. We expect more customers to visit our shops alone and to better serve their needs, we will continue to introduce menu items tailored for solo diners," Kim said.
CJ Foodville, the food service arm of CJ Group, has renovated the interiors of its shabu-shabu restaurant Cheiljemyunso to attract more people dining solo. Shabu-shabu is a dish featuring thinly sliced beef, vegetables and other ingredients boiled in water.
"We took away many four-people tables and expanded the length of the bar table where people can sit next to one another whether they know each other or not," CJ Foodville spokeswoman Shin Hyo-jung said. "They sit at a bar equipped with individual burners and choose dishes from a rotating belt. It is much easier for customers to enjoy our high-quality shabu-shabu whether they come in a group or solo."
The number of solo customers has increased by three-fold this year from a year earlier, according to Shin. "We think the number will continue to increase, given the rising number of people living alone. We will continue to develop menu items and create a more accommodating dining environment for solo diners," she said.
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| Angel-in-us Coffee, a coffee house operated by Lotte Group, offers half-size sandwiches and bakery products to cater to solo customers. / Courtesy of Angel-in-us Coffee |
Angel-in-us Coffee, a coffee franchise run by Lotte Group, has also been capitalizing on the growing number of people living alone.
In 2013, the company cut the size of its sandwiches and other bakery products in half for customers visiting its shops alone.
"We first introduced the half-size bread in March last year. We saw the number of solo visitors jump by over 20 percent from March through December, compared to the previous year," a company spokeswoman Youn So-yean said. "While many of our customers still come for a cup of coffee in groups. More and more visit us to eat breakfast or spend time alone reading books or working on something. We will continue to introduce more drinks and dishes for solo customers."
