luncheonette

American  

[luhn-chuh-net] / ˌlʌn tʃəˈnɛt /

noun

1. a small restaurant or lunchroom where light meals are served.

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luncheonette British  

/ ˌlʌntʃəˈnɛt /

noun

1. a café or small informal restaurant where light meals and snacks are served

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Etymology

Origin of luncheonette

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; luncheon + -ette

Explanation

A luncheonette is a small restaurant inside a store. During the 20th century, most dime stores and department stores had luncheonettes so shoppers could take a convenient lunch break. A luncheonette, or lunch counter, has a row of stools like a diner, but it serves a more limited menu — mainly sandwiches and salads. In their heyday, luncheonettes were found inside most five-and-dime stores, and some bigger department stores had them as well. The best-known dime store chain, Woolworth's, closed its last store in 1997, and while a few luncheonettes remain, the lunch counter tradition largely ended then. Luncheonette is from luncheon, "lunch," and -ette, "little."

Example Sentences

The family later moved to the South Bronx, where they opened up a luncheonette called “Mambo”: a name chosen by young Eddie, who was enthralled by the Cuban dance hall rhythms.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025

Demi Delvalle runs a luncheonette on Atlantic Avenue, and says the road is often heavily congested, particularly in summer or when one or more large entertainment events are taking place in Atlantic City.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2023

In street clothes, he drives a silver pickup truck with a yellow light on top through the port’s busy lanes, past a greasy-spoon luncheonette and beyond a gate by a former Singer sewing machine factory.

From Washington Post • Dec. 21, 2021

He ducked into the nation’s last operating Woolworth’s luncheonette, where nostalgic diners were getting their final burgers before the building closed for renovations.

From New York Times • Dec. 11, 2021

We turned into a luncheonette for coffee, and I didn’t see his face, but the sound revealed his exasperation.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes