Parisa Imanirad, a scientist and cancer researcher from San Francisco, is married and has a wide circle of friends. But once or twice a week, she goes to a restaurant by herself.
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00:00Hello.
00:01Hi.
00:02How are you today?
00:04I'm a very sociable person.
00:06I have so many friends.
00:08I love spending time with them, but I also like to have some time just by myself and
00:16sometimes even going to a nice restaurant and having a very nice meal, I mean, it's
00:21very enjoyable just by yourself.
00:23There was certainly a period of time when there was no solo dining.
00:27Over the years I've seen it become more and more popular, sort of as the stigma of dining
00:33alone has faded, but it's certainly accelerated post-pandemic.
00:38Seeing a single person sit in the dining room, enjoying the experience, going out of their
00:43way to have the experience, and they're there simply for the food and the service and the
00:47ambiance, makes me really happy.
00:49So yes, we could probably ring the cash register a little bit more if another person was sitting
00:54there, but I'm honored to have single diners in the dining room.
00:57Walk-ins and solo dining are a pair made in heaven, right?
01:02So it's a great way to get access to restaurants that are often very booked out or very popular.
01:06And when you're by yourself, I think you can notice so much more, right, about the ambiance,
01:12about the service that you're getting, about the food.
01:15You can order whatever you want, which as a mom often is not the case when I dine with
01:20my family.
01:22We have selected a table at our restaurant that really captures the breadth of the restaurant.
01:29Situated in an area where people can see most of everything that's going on, one element
01:34that we like to incorporate is bringing the bar to them.
01:36So usually when you order a drink, it's crafted behind the bar, someone brings it to you.
01:41But for our solo diners, the bartender will come over, kind of show you the different
01:45components, shake the cocktail, and pour it for you table-side.
01:48And another really cool component is we have this little book that's kind of similar to
01:52what you'd get at an Airbnb where, like, Bill and Diana said they had a great time here,
01:58you should really try this, or, you know.
02:00And guests will leave notes for the next guest who is joining us for the solo dining experience.
02:06When I want to do solo dining, I come here because I love the music.
02:10So I think, I suggest to restaurants, if they want to invite the solo diners, please play
02:16nice music.