Restaurant preferences of Generation X and Z individuals

The conditions of people's upbringing and the cultures in which they are involved have an impact on their food preferences. Generation X individuals covering the period between 1965 and 1979 are more ousterity oriented and turn to healthy foods due to the conditions of their period; It is seen that generation Z individuals covering 2000 and later periods intend to build a more confident and effortless life anda re more pleasure,oriented in their food preferences due to their upbringing a a time of high levels of prosperity and high social and techonological opportunities. This study is important because it reveals the differences in opinions of the X and Z generation participants about their restaurant preferences in terms of the theory of the phenomenon of eating out Qualitative Research Methods were used in the study. The scope of the research is made up of people living in Alanya district of Antalya province and 32 interviews were conducted within the scope of purposeful sampling method in the research. In the study; semi-structured interview and document analysis methods were used as data collection methods. The result of this study is limited to the participants who participated in the study and the general adoptation of the results obtained from the study may lead to incorrect inferences. Looking at the results of the study, it was determined that the X and Z generations participating in the study had the behavior of eating out to spend time rather than quenching hunger, and the Z generation participants ate out more than the X generation participants. Generation X allocates an average of 1-2 hours and an amount of 50-100 TL for a meal to eat out, while Generation Z allocates less than 1 hour and less than 50 TL. Considering the food choices of the consumers in the X and Z generations; The quality of the food and making it feel good are important criteria for both generations. On the other hand, the X generation attaches more importance to the healthy food, while the Z generation pays attention to the economy of the food. In order of importance, the factors affecting the restaurant choice of individuals in the X generation are; quality, hygiene, service/customer service, atmosphere, availability of foods from different cultures, variety of food/menu, advertisement/social media, price, preparation time of the food, location of the restaurant. In terms of the Z generation, according to the priority order of these factors; quality, hygiene, service/customer service, preparation time, price, location of the restaurant, availability of foods from different cultures, atmosphere, advertisement/social media, food/menu variety.