This article is based on the Allwork.Space Future of Work Podcast episode Paul Fairhead: Can Hospitality Make the Office Worth the Commute? Watch or listen to the full episode.
Office owners have invested heavily in beautiful interiors, premium amenities and spaces designed to make the commute worthwhile. Yet one of the most basic parts of the workplace experience, getting a good meal or coffee, can still feel like an afterthought.
Paul Fairhead, CEO of Infuse Hospitality and former CEO of Guckenheimer, believes the physical office has improved faster than the experience of being there. A chef by training with more than 25 years in hotels, restaurants and corporate dining across Europe, Latin America and the U.S., Fairhead discussed the issue on The Future of Work Podcast. His argument is that workplace food needs to give people something to look forward to, rather than simply provide a predictable meal.
The Corporate Cafeteria Has a Variety Problem
Traditional corporate dining was designed for employees who came into the office five days a week. But as employers encourage people to return three to five days a week, serving essentially the same menu every day can lose its appeal.
Fairhead says workplace food needs more variety and surprise. He calls his preferred model the “food truck approach:” a small menu, executed well, available at a particular place and time.
Workplaces can apply this idea by rotating local restaurants, introducing pop-ups and offering limited-time menus. Instead of trying to provide everything every day, they can focus on delivering a few things exceptionally well and changing the selection regularly.
The goal is to make food an experience employees anticipate, rather than an amenity they barely notice. When companies ask people to spend more time in person, the everyday experience matters as much as the office’s appearance.
Better Food Does Not Require a Bigger Kitchen
Traditional food-service infrastructure can be expensive and difficult to adapt. Building a full commercial kitchen and permanent restaurant operation commits owners to a particular format, even when employee attendance and demand may vary. Fairhead argues that workplaces can offer better food without that investment. A small coworking space might bring in a local coffee roaster, use a mobile barista cart or host a restaurant pop-up. A large office building could rotate vendors across multiple food stations.
The approach can work in spaces serving 20 people or 3,000. Operators can test different offerings before committing to permanent infrastructure, adjusting the program to actual demand. That requires understanding how people use the building, including attendance patterns, employee demographics, nearby restaurants, shift schedules and how much time workers have to leave for lunch. A building surrounded by restaurants has different needs from one with few convenient options.
Rather than installing a standard cafeteria and expecting it to succeed, operators need to design food programs around the people using the space, according to Fairhead.
Local Restaurants Can Deliver a More Distinctive Experience
Partnerships with neighborhood restaurants can give workplaces more variety while helping local businesses reach new customers. Direct relationships can also reduce reliance on delivery platforms and other intermediaries.
Fairhead described a Chicago building with seven food hubs that initially used one provider across all locations. Feedback was inconsistent, with some outlets performing better than others. Bringing in local restaurants and food truck operators created more distinctive offerings and let each business focus on what it did best.
A rotating lineup also gives buildings flexibility. One station might serve tacos while another features a neighborhood restaurant’s specialty, with offerings changing over time rather than requiring a complete overhaul of the dining operation.
For property owners trying to attract tenants, that can make the food experience feel more connected to the surrounding community and less like a standard corporate cafeteria.
Employers May Be Paying for Amenities Workers Barely Notice
Workplace food can help attract employees and tenants, but its value is not always easy to measure. Fairhead said one client planned to increase rent from $40 to $45 per square foot alongside improved amenities. That is one example, not a guaranteed return on food-service investment.
Other benefits, such as colleagues meeting over lunch and resolving problems in person, are harder to quantify.
Employers may also receive little credit for subsidizing food and drinks because employees do not see the full cost. Fairhead offered the example of a coffee that costs an employee $1 but may cost the employer $5 to provide.
Some dining programs make the subsidy visible by showing the original price alongside the discount. A meal priced at $12 and offered to employees for $6 makes the employer’s contribution easier to recognize.
For coworking operators, complimentary food and coffee can also help attract prospective members comparing spaces. Once someone joins, those amenities become part of the operating costs, but they can influence the initial decision to sign up.
Start Small and Adapt as Needs Change
Fairhead recommends beginning with manageable improvements, such as partnering with a local coffee roaster or bringing neighborhood restaurants into the workplace for pop-up meals. These options can improve the experience without requiring major construction.
Operators can then build on what works through modular food stations, multiple service points, grab-and-go options and rotating providers. Flexible formats help buildings respond to changing attendance and tenant needs without being locked into a single dining concept.
The central point is that workplace hospitality requires attention to the people using the space. Beautiful interiors may bring people through the door, but the everyday experience helps determine whether they want to return.
A great coffee, a meal worth looking forward to or a local restaurant offering something unexpected can make the office feel less like a place employees are required to visit and more like somewhere they choose to spend their time.
