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

In March, chef James Kent and his restaurateur partner, Jeff Katz, opened Crown Shy, an elegant but casual 120-seat restaurant on the ground floor of 70 Pine Street, an 87-year-old art deco skyscraper in Manhattan’s Financial District. — Howie Kahn, WSJ, "This FiDi Restaurant Hopes to Feel “Like a Party in a Penthouse”," 16 May 2019 Next, Zobler and company get to work assembling a team, from interior designers to restaurateurs. — Rima Suqi, National Geographic, "Meet the man who creates today’s coolest hotels," 14 Mar. 2019 Taco Chelo This Mexican restaurant from chef Suny Santana, designer Gennaro Garcia and restaurateur Aaron Chamberlin (St. Francis, Phoenix Public Market Cafe, Tempe Public Market) opened on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix. — Jennifer Mcclellan, azcentral, "New restaurants in Phoenix in March: 37 openings in a month may set a record," 2 Apr. 2018 New York City restaurateur Ryan Chadwick serves invasive lionfish at his restaurant Norman's Cay and has even begun a wholesale lionfish sales business to further target the species. — Ryan Knighton, Popular Mechanics, "The Truth Is in the Muck," 6 Oct. 2016 Two of the most respected restaurateurs in the city, Donnie Madia and Kevin Boehm, are helping launch the Chicago Welcome Conference, a one-day forum featuring a range of speakers discussing the hospitality industry. — Nick Kindelsperger, chicagotribune.com, "Welcome Conference, a hospitality industry event launched in New York, coming to Chicago this fall," 5 June 2019 This past spring, restaurateur Andrew Tarlow quietly unveiled The Castle, an 1,800-square-foot event venue at the site. — Marley Marius, Vogue, "The Restaurateur Behind Roman’s Has Opened a Charming New Events Space in Red Hook," 1 Oct. 2018 Back in the city, restaurateurs like Benalcazar and Morstein are hopeful. — Brittany Britto, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore restaurant closures continue as suburbanites dine elsewhere," 7 May 2018 With each step up in the minimum wage, restaurateurs compensate for their higher labor costs by raising menu prices. — Jonathan Kauffman, San Francisco Chronicle, "Change in law allows pooling of tips in California, aiding cooks, dishwashers," 12 Apr. 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.