Eating and drinking outside the home provides more than mere sustenance. It serves an important social function by relieving family members of responsibility for preparing the meal, permitting larger gatherings than may be possible in the home or helping to strengthen personal and commercial bonds between diners. Nowhere is this more valued than in Asia, where more than one-third of all retail shops are eating and drinking establishments. First came grocery stores, then supermarkets, then megamarkets. The high incidence of car ownership enables most US households to buy larger quantities of food than may be conveniently transported in baskets and handcarts.
Larger quantities result in larger stores.
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