Who Invented the Cafetorium?

During the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, entrepreneur John Kruger built an American version of the smörgåsbords he had seen while traveling in Sweden. Emphasising the simplicity and light fare, he called it the 'Cafeteria' - Spanish for 'coffee shop'.

When was the cafeteria invented?

In 1891 the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Kansas City, Missouri, established what some food-industry historians consider the first cafeteria.

What is the purpose of the cafeteria?

The definition of a cafeteria is a self-service restaurant where you select and pay for food yourself, or a dining area where meals can be purchased or brought from home. The big room with a lunch line and tables where kids eat their lunches while at school is an example of a cafeteria.