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 Most
people eat their meals in the kitchen or dining room. Some even eat
in their living rooms or bedrooms. But have you ever eaten a meal
in a bathroom? Sounds pretty weird, and a bit disgusting, doesn’t it? Well,
apparently, not in the United
Kingdom. Last month, a restaurant named Story opened in London. What’s
interesting about this restaurant is the fact that it’s located in
a former public bathroom.
 Surprisingly,
Story’s location isn’t unique. Recently, a London cafe called The
Attendant opened in a former
Victorian toilet built in
the late 19th century. “We kept everything,” said The Attendant’s
owner Peter Tomlinson. “Floors, walls, and urinals built in 1890 are
all original.” Diners sit at the urinals, which have been transformed
into a seating cubicle. In addition, a third
London public toilet was recently sold at auction, with plans to transform
the space into a restaurant.
 This
trend is spreading all over the Great
Britain. On the east coast of England, in Westcliff-on-Sea, a restaurant
called Toulouse is located in a former public toilet. In the west,
the Sea Mills Community Initiative, a local charity in Bristol, created
a community-run cafe in disused toilets.
So what’s behind the toilet-to-restaurant trend? It’s cheap. Many
public toilets in the United Kingdom have been abandoned. Because
property prices are high
and available space is limited,
disused public toilets are becoming hot real estate. And for urban
designers, this is the perfect solution.
 “The re-use
and conversion of underused buildings to more
profitable and beneficial uses is a way
of reducing maintenance costs and enhancing local areas,” said
urban designer Peter Frankum.
What do you think? Would you dine inside a public restroom? Could
this trend catch on in Korea? Hopefully
not, but if it did, there’s no doubt that it would be an interesting
experience! |
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