Definition of RESTAURATEUR

Restaurateur Has French Roots

Restaurateur and restaurant were borrowed directly from related French words, and both ultimately derive from the Latin word restaurare ("to restore"). Restaurateur is the older of the two; our earliest evidence dates it to 1793. Restaurant is only slightly newer; it dates to 1806. Of the two words, restaurant is of course significantly more common—a fact that may have influenced the development of the variant spelling restauranteur for restaurateur. Restauranteur first appeared a mere 44 years after restaurateur, but it is considered by many to be an error. It is, however, a standard variant, albeit one that continues to be used less frequently than restaurateur.

Examples of restaurateur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As deputy Food editor Jenn Harris reports in her weekly Restaurant News column, that’s happening; also happening is Heroic Deli, a new shop from restaurateur Adam Fleischman, coming to Santa Monica this summer. — latimes.com, "Brownies on the grill, vampiros in the truck," 7 July 2018 Most accounts of the patty melt’s beginnings trace it back to Los Angeles restaurateur Tiny Naylor, who sold patty melts in the 1940s. — Dan Nosowitz, GQ, "Skip the Burger, Eat the Patty Melt," 28 June 2018 The restaurant will be operated by veteran restaurateur Greg Pronzo, who ran the former Cowgirls Rockbar on International Drive and the Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen and Bar in The Villages. — Kyle Arnold, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Cinco Tacos taking place of Carmel Kitchen in Winter Park," 27 June 2018 That’s why the first Thai New Year Water Festival debuts in Uptown this weekend, explains restaurateur Dew Suriyawan. — Bill Daley, chicagotribune.com, "Thai New Year Water Festival debuts in Uptown this weekend," 18 May 2018 No one on Earth has berated more restaurateurs than celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. — Fox News, "Gordon Ramsay: How to tell if you’re at a bad restaurant," 17 May 2018 Underlying all this creativity is another factor, says veteran New York restaurateur Shelly Fireman, whose dining spots, including Bond 45, Trattoria Dell’Arte and the Brooklyn Diner, offer several Benedict versions. — Charles Passy, WSJ, "Breakfast Lasagna Benedict? New York Chefs Offer Fresh Takes on Classic Egg Dish," 10 May 2018 The award honors restaurants that go above and beyond in community service and philanthropy and aims to inspire other restaurateurs to get or stay involved in their local communities. — Erin Edgemon, AL.com, "Birmingham restaurant wins statewide award for community service," 22 Feb. 2018 Straub also will renovate apartments over the retail areas and hopes to find a restaurateur who'll add a deli or cafe to the building. — Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Pete's Pops will open a storefront on the west side," 12 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'restaurateur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.