To pop-up or not: Examining an innovative dining phenomenon

Abstract

In contemporary times, pop-up retail has been embraced by the business sector across the globe as a strategy to provide an experiential environment now desired by the adventurous consumer. It is a way to attract attention and new customers while developing a brand image (Niehm et al., 2007). The pop-up concept can work equally well for the hospitality sector with numerous pop-up restaurants emerging in a variety of different locations across the planet, including the United States, Cuba, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. Pop-up restaurants (also called a supper club) are temporary, often operated from a former factory site, a private home, a gourmet mobile food truck or during a regional festival. The pop-up restaurant can provide social interaction for guests in an informal, intimate and exclusive dining environment, especially if conducted in the lounge room of a residential home. The diner of the twenty-first century is now seeking innovative and unique eating experiences which go beyond the standard restaurant model. In 2013, the Urban Coffee Farm & Brew House hosted a coffee plantation for 17 days at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. This pop-up was staffed on a rotational basis by renowned Melbourne baristas and bartenders. The coffee plantation offered a unique coffee consuming experience to Melbournians which also included master classes to discover more of the coffee story (Russell, 2013). There are a number of tangible and intangible benefits from this style of enterprise. There is limited risk of financial ruin compared to setting up a standard restaurant business. Chefs can often take advantage of underused kitchen spaces to save on money because there are limited set up costs and there is no long term lease arrangement required (Dicum, 2010). There is also greater control over presentation and service protocols allowing more creativity to experiment with new ideas for the chef and restaurateur (Strand, 2010).