I'm looking for words that can distinguish two business types. Take, for example, McDonalds and Takara. McDonalds is a business that, while it is a "restaurant", does not behave like a restaurant, in the sense that customers just order food and directly pay there, much like retail. On the other hand, Takara is also a restaurant, and it behaves like one in the sense that customers order food, wait, and pay once they're done.
I was thinking of the terms "Retail" and "Restaurant", but in the case of McDonalds and Takara, both are restaurants but one acts like retail and the other doesn't. What are good words to categorize these two business types in order to differentiate them?
Best Answer
You could describe the type of service the restaurant offers instead of describing the restaurant itself.
"Counter Service" has some variations, but it usually means that a customer will walk up to a counter and place their order and pay for it before they receive it. Then they might wait for their food at the counter and carry it to a table, or they will sit down and someone will bring their order to them.
"Table service" usually means that the customers sit at a table and a waiter will take their order and deliver their meal after it is prepared. Most of the time the meal is paid for after it is eaten, and a gratuity for the servers is expected.
Sometimes though a "fast food" restaurant might offer table service or a counter service restaurant will offer "fine dining" style food.
Example of how to use these terms: