Corporate cafeterias in postwar America (1950s)
As office work expanded after World War II, large employers built subsidized in-house cafeterias as a standard perk. Companies ran kitchens directly, often at a loss, to keep workers on site.
Company dining became an expected office amenity through the 1960s and 1970s.
Cost pressure pushed many firms to outsource dining to contractors; by the 2000s, foodservice companies ran most large workplace cafeterias.
Eurest's Las Vegas coffee bar is the modern form of that same amenity, delivered by a contractor rather than an employer's own kitchen.
