Rethinking Restaurant Queueing Design: The Example of Noma's Post-Covid-19 Burger Pop-up

Abstract

This article argues that waiting in line can exist as an integral part of a food experience. The article offers a new perspective on rethinking queueing and understanding queueing as an important part of the restaurant experience. The study provides an example of downplaying the exclusiveness of fine dining through the interpersonal queueing experience. In practical terms, the article examines the global trend of opening a food event during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on a specific case, draws up recommendations for restaurant design, and highlights the relevance of having different design strategies in uncertain times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the article contributes to the growing corpus of studies in food experience design by focusing on the overlooked aspect of waiting in line. The empirical example used is from a major ongoing study on the specular transformation of the iconic New Nordic restaurant NOMA (Copenhagen) in spring 2020 at the time of the first post-COVID-19 reopening of restaurants. This world-renowned restaurant—known for local, seasonal, foraged, vegetable-focused cuisine—was transformed into a burger joint serving only a cheeseburger and a veggie burger. Through such transformation, the eating experience was radically altered. Interviews with 20 guests about their experience show that waiting in line—rather than being an obstacle as one might imagine—became central to the overall experience for most visitors. The "waiting-in-line" experience helped 1) create more informal interpersonal exchanges between NOMA staff and guests, and 2) build up an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement, which added to the experience of eating in NOMA's garden or neighboring surroundings. The case could be understood as part of an overall trend to play with access and accessibility to food experiences on the fine dining scene.