What:  Department Stores are increasingly upping the game in terms of restaurant quality, to become top destinations.

Why it is important:  It is not about simply allowing customers to spend more time in the store, but really to add to the appeal of the store by including a high level restaurant designed as part of the store experience (and desirability) itself.

Several major department stores are taking fine dining to the next level by opening restaurants right in the middle of the store, between brands, such as Adesse, the new vegan restaurant at Selfridges. It is not about reverting to old dining halls, but to contribute to an elevated experience for a store seen as a ‘social place’. This is also the reason why a branch of Pizza Pilgrims opened in the store (with the dough produced on site) or a new Starck-designed restaurant at Saks Fifth Avenue, Palette at Bergdorf Goodman, or the whole food offer at Harrods, which tends to become less a grocery space than a collection of elevated restaurants.

The goal is to become a “global dining destination”, which presents the advantage to also be extremely appealing for local customers.

Could fine dining be the future of department stores?