Innovation is the name of the game when it comes to staying relevant in any industry, and the culinary world is no different. Sometimes, there's an idea that changes the game in a big way, and it's fascinating to take a look at just how some of these ideas were born, grew, and developed. Take the American diner.
The origin story of the diner goes back to the 19th century! Take a look across the pond, and you'll find the origin story of a much more recent but no less influential concept: The gastropub. Merriam-Webster added the word "gastropub" to the dictionary in 2012, but people might still wonder what it is that makes a gastropub. On the surface, it's a pretty straightforward idea: it's a pub that serves restaurant-quality food.
It seems like a place that offered both good pints and good food would be a bit of an obvious thing, which makes it surprising that the first gastropub only opened in 1991. When Michael Belben and David Eyre opened the doors of The Eagle, it was a huge deal. Previously, British pub-goers were restricted to food options like bags of crisps and soggy, pre-made sandwiches, which — well, it was never great.
Things changed in a big way when Belben and Eyre decided to open a pub at a time that seemed like the exact wrong time to open a restaurant. They got creative, though, and in the process, invented a whole new type of eating establishment. The gastropub was initially created as a way to weather a recession Michael Belben and David Eyre are the two .