The historaunt: Heritage tourism at Mickey's Dining Car

People traveling away from home have to eat! Restaurants play an important role in tourism. They provide not just food and beverages, but experiences. Some function as attractions. Often referred to as "Eatertainment", some examples are "Hard Rock Cafe", "Planet Hollywood", and "Rain Forest Cafe". Heritage is a significant part of the travel and tourism industry. Heritage attractions and restaurants have been studied independently. Yet there is no academic literature on restaurants as historic tourist attractions. For these, we coin a new term "Historaunt". The purpose of the study was to obtain an understanding of the restaurant as a heritage attraction. A questionnaire was used to gather data. The survey was given to customers at Mickey's Dining Car and Mickey's Restaurant, two similar operations, owned and operated by Mickey's Diner Inc. in the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul in the USA. The important difference between the establishments is the historical designation of Mickey's Dining Car (The Historaunt). The response rate was 93%. Respondents from both establishments had comparable demographics. All were interested in "good food", and "value for money". Behavioral and motivational differences were found between patrons of The Restaurant and The Historaunt. It attracted more customers, and more tourists. Historaunt patrons used magazines, movies, and tour guides as informational sources. They attached more importance to souvenirs, tourism/heritage issues, and to having "new eating experiences". Implications for operators of "Historaunt" and "Eatertainment" venues are suggested. Suggestions for additional research are provided. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.