Typical shopping center food court vendor layout at Centre Eaton in Montreal. Patrons eat meals in a food court in Caracas. A food court is a (usually) indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining.12 Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions (such as Asia and Africa) may be a standalone development. In some places of learning such as high schools and universities, food courts have also come to replace or complement traditional cafeterias.345

The average cost of a meal per person in an American food court in 2004 was $6.6 Setup Food courts consist of a number of vendors at food stalls or service counters. Meals are ordered at one of the vendors and then carried to a common dining area. Food is usually eaten with plastic silverware, and sporks are sometimes utilized to avoid the necessity of providing both forks and spoons. Typical North American and European food courts have mostly fast food chains such as McDonald's and Sbarro, with perhaps a few smaller private vendors. Cuisines and choices are varied, with larger food courts offering more global choices. Asian and African food courts are mostly private vendors that offer local cuisine. In Singapore, food courts and hawker centers are the people's main eating choice when dining out.7 Many food courts have several shops which sell prepared meals for shoppers to take home and reheat, making the food court a daily stop for some shoppers.6

Common materials used in constructing food courts are tile, linoleum, Formica, stainless steel, and glass, all of which facilitate easy cleanup.6 History The second-floor food court at the Paramus Park shopping mall in New Jersey, which opened in March 1974, has been credited as the first successful shopping mall food court.8 Built by The Rouse Company, one of the leading mall building companies of the time, it followed an unsuccessful attempt at the Plymouth Meeting Mall in 1971, which reportedly failed because it was "deemed too small and insufficiently varied."8 References ^ "Landlord Tenant Common Areas Law & Legal Definition". definitions.uslegal.com. http://definitions.uslegal.com/l/landlord-tenant-common-areas/. Retrieved 2009-03-12.  ^ Food court. (n.d.). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved May 22, 2007, from Answers.com Web site: http://www.answers.com/topic/food-court ^ George Beach, "High School Food Courts: A New Evolution in Student Dining", School Planning and Management; v39 n8, p22-23; August 2000 ^ Amy Milshtein, "Bye Bye Cafeteria - Hello Restaurant-Style Dining", College Planning and Management, November 1999 ^ Stamford University Food Court ^ a b c Underhill, Paco (2004). Call of the Mall. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743235924.  ^ Food & leisure - Eating in Singapore, famous Singapore food ^ a b "Rouse Left Mark On Malls, Not Just His Own". Shopping Centers Today (International Council of Shopping Centers). May 2004. http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0504/page42.php. Retrieved April 20, 2010.  Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Food courts