Debating Device-Free Policies

Digital detox, phone-free dining and disconnected venues are a few terms restaurant operators need to pay attention to as Nielsen IQ on premise research found 21 percent of consumers have visited a site with some restrictions and 46 percent of all consumers said they would have better quality conversation or socialization in venues with a cell-phone ban policy. The trend is gaining traction as Axios recently revealed there are restaurants and bars in at least 11 states with some form of phone restriction and getting nuanced responses from industry insiders. 

There are pros and cons to phone usage in the dining experience, Rick Camac, Executive Director of Industry Relations at the Institute of Culinary Education, noted. The pros are it'll be easier to take an order and keep diners' attention.It's likely they'll order quicker as they won't be distracted by their phones.  It's a benefit if the venue is private and likes to keep things that way.  For example, Soho House does not allow pictures taken or cell usage in much of their spaces. Other pros include being able to control the content that comes from your venue.

The negatives are you'll get fewer social media attention so it's important that you have a PR or social media person to carry the weight of getting the word out, he noted. Additionally, it’s not likely you'll get influencers (especially super-influencers) to come and review.

“As diners, many of us like to photograph our food and  drink, even take a call from time to time, Camac said. “A solo diner may want to listen to a book or conduct business. I'd have to assume some would choose not to go to a venue that does not allow photography.  Conversely, others may find it a welcome change.”

Milos Eric, General Manager at OysterLink, thinks it's part of a bigger shift for the industry and how restaurants view themselves because they don't want to be just about serving food anymore: they invite customers to have an immersive and intentional experience. 

“That being said, most of the restaurants don't enforce the no-phone rule in a harsh way; they try to find a softer approach by offering some incentives to their customers. After all, it's way harder to implement such a concept in a high-volume restaurant, and frankly, it's not that necessary for them. There's also a downside, as customers won't share where they eat on social media as much. And that kind of exposure brings a lot of traffic.”

On paper, phone-free dining feels like a return to what traditional hospitality used to be: the presence, connection between the diners, and a proper attention to the experience in front of you, said Sanwar Mal Khokhar, Mixologist/Beverage Program Leader at Sanjh Restaurant & Bar in Irving, Texas, but he feels the reality is different. 

“The phones are not just distractions anymore, they are part of how guests navigate a menu, they can validate their choices and even decide what feels worth ordering from the menu. Gen Z are very particular about how their food and drinks look before the taste, the look and the experience is more important to them.”

Khokhar personally observed guests using their phones to look up unfamiliar ingredients, which is common in an Indian restaurant where many flavors are new to the American palate. Guests often show drinks or ingredients they’ve discovered on social media, eager to learn more. 

“When you remove this tool you are not just disconnecting it,” Khokhar said. “You are indirectly asking them to trust the restaurant and this step puts the pressure directly onto the staff. As a result, the menu has to be clear and the menu should lean towards better storytelling and the service has to carry more weight. Most of the time this is what can become the real disconnector.”

Where phone free dining does work beautifully in pacing and engagement, Khokhar noted. 

“Conversations last longer. Guests are more present with each other. Drinks and food are experienced more slowly and intentionally, especially in a setting where the menu is designed to tell a story. In that sense, it aligns naturally with how I approach beverage programs where each drink is meant to be understood, not just consumed.”

Phones today are part of the discovery ecosystem, Khokhar said. Guests share what they are drinking, they create visibility for the brand, and they contribute to organic marketing in a way that no campaign can fully replicate. 

“If you take that away, you need to replace it with something equally compelling either a stronger in-person experience or a deeper emotional connection that guests carry with them after they leave. Most of the time restaurants and bars are designing their menu that is visually so stunning and people find it photo worthy. Phone free dining can take that option out. I have seen people using phones all the time even though their food is getting cold or drinks are melting.”

At the end of the day, it is not about banning the phones. It is more about building an experience that makes guests forget to reach for the phone in the first place.

Mick Carr, CEO of Grub Lab, believes that connection doesn't require confiscating devices and while they work for cocktail bars, they're a non-starter for family dining because no parent of a six-year-old will surrender their phone at the door, and independent operators who try it will lose the occasion entirely. Families already use phones at the table as a coping mechanism when kids are bored and disengaged so the fix isn't to remove the crutch, but to turn it into an in-restaurant experience worth coming back for. 

Discounting and phone bans are both the wrong response to the current traffic slump, Carr feels adding that the restaurants that will win are the ones that lean into genuine connection, not the ones that restrict behavior or race to the bottom on price. 

“My measuring stick for a great restaurant has been to look around and see who is experiencing the moment and who is living life through a screen, more of an observer than a participant,” said Izzy Kharasch, president and founder of Hospitality Works, Inc., a bar and restaurant consulting company. “There is value in sharing a meal. When we go out with friends and family, the goal is to spend quality time together and take this opportunity to be social and build relationships.” 

While he believes it's important for adults to put down their phones during a meal and really enjoy being together, he feels that for young people it's crucial.

"In my weekly travels, I meet with so many young people who were negatively affected by COVID. Not being able to socialize for two years was a real game changer. This lack of socialization shows up in interviews, where the young candidate can’t look the interviewer in the eyes, can’t converse on a simple level and can’t talk about themselves or their accomplishments."

Meals together are an opportunity to build interactive skills that were missed along the way, he said, citing the example of some Chick Fil A restaurants, where customers can voluntarily put their cell phones into a container and dine phone-free. If everyone at a table does it, they get a free ice cream cone.

Phone-free dining is not a great universal solution, it is just a positioning choice that works best if the concept is strong enough to hold the attention of the guest on its own, Khokhar suggested. 

“If the experience is immersive, thoughtful, and well executed, guests will not feel like something is missing. But if the foundation is not strong enough removing phones does not fix the problem at all it exposes it. At the end of the day, it is not about banning the phones. It is more about building an experience that makes guests forget to reach for the phone in the first place.”