The cafeteria sometimes called a canteen outside of the United States, is often the only place to eat inside a school, hospital, or corporate building. Some refer to this gathering place as the lunchroom or dining hall, where people usually get their food, eat, and meet with classmates or coworkers.

Unlike a regular restaurant, cafeterias don’t have a waiting table staff to get your orders, but instead, pick up and pay your food via food counters or stalls. There are often food stations where customers can order pre-made food like cold sandwiches or served hot items like hamburgers or pasta. Customers are given empty container cups after paying at the checkout counter to fill out for their drinks.

Despite the convenience of self-serve counters, the “old” cafeteria within hospitals, schools, and workplace buildings has been synonymous with low-grade food. This is probably due to the fast preparation and volume servings these food services entail. However, a number of current cafeterias are bucking this trend by offering a more modern and healthy way of serving their food. Modern cafeterias provide the option of creating your own meal by laying out a variety of vegan, vegetarian, and protein-based meal options.

This updated spin on the cafeteria has led to a resurgence in the space. If you’re innovative and plan to put up one, you have to start with an inviting name. But don’t forget that the food served should match the name. In this article, we present you with some creative name suggestions you can use when naming a cafeteria.

Cafeteria Name Ideas

Thinking of a name to put into that startup cafeteria business? Look no further than the suggestions listed below.

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  • Simple Foods
  • Creative Food Ideas
  • Wrap N’ Roll
  • Green and Healthy
  • Go, Grow, and Glow
  • Food Variations
  • Food Colony
  • Smart Counters
  • Food Choices
  • Food As Fun
  • Hype Foods
  • Around the Counter
  • Complete Package
  • Nutri Stop
  • Amazing Trays
  • Food Chain
  • #Cafeteria
  • All In One
  • Happy Plates
  • Incredible Diets
  • Hearty Tummies
  • Real Meals
  • Quantum Cafeteria
  • Cafeteria Charts
  • Via Cafeteria
  • Cafeteria Unlimited
  • Snap Cafeteria
  • Sunny Side Cafeteria
  • Cafeteria Street

Hospital Cafeteria Name Ideas

Cafeterias are often found in hospitals, ready to serve employees, patients, and visitors alike. If you’re planning to open inside this health care facility, here are some appropriate name ideas.

  • Vitamin Cafe
  • Healthy Eats
  • E.R. (Entrée Room)
  • Recovery Food
  • Emergency Break
  • Doctor’s Orders
  • Hospitality Food
  • Prescription Meals
  • Diet Rehabilitation
  • Gastronomic Delights
  • Rehabilitation Area
  • Operating Tables
  • EMS (Exciting Meals Served)
  • ICU (Impressive Chefs Unit) <– Proud of this one.
  • MRI (Most Requested Indulgence)
  • Foodology Department
  • ICU (Intensive Cooking Unit)
  • GI (Gastro Intensive)
  • ENT (Emergency Nutritional Team)
  • EMT (Epic Meal Time)
  • RX (Refreshments Xtreme)
  • Prescribed Nutrition
  • RN (Requested Nutrition)
  • Digestive Juices
  • Food Ambulance
  • The Food Ward
  • Health Care Provider
  • Nutritional Value
  • In and Out Patient Diner
  • The Staff Cafe

Office Cafeteria Name Ideas

Every office building must-have a place where employees can gather, relax, and eat during a day of work. Employers have found these places to be good for the bottom line since they keep employees in the building instead of leaving the work-site to pickup a meal. We’ve come up with some creative names you can use for your staff cafeteria below.

  • Break Time!
  • Meeting Place
  • Executive Meals
  • The Boardroom
  • The Pinnacle
  • The 11th Floor
  • President’s Choice
  • Overlooking Cafeteria
  • The Dining Room
  • The Office Café
  • Team Goals
  • The Top
  • Corporate Larder
  • Hungry Tummy
  • Outside the Box
  • Going Forward
  • Synergy Cafeteria
  • Touch Base
  • Raising the Bar
  • Pipeline
  • Food Staples
  • Paper Clips
  • The Corkboard
  • Seasons
  • Corner Meals
  • Countertops
  • Food Gallery
  • The Balcony
  • Food Court Specials

Canteen Name Ideas

Did you know that cafeteria and canteen are interchangeable terms? These words were caught between the British-American language. The British call it canteen, while American English has used the term cafeteria for places to eat. As such, these interchangeable name suggestions can also be used for your startup cafeteria.

  • Win-Win Canteen
  • Summertime
  • Laugh Out Loud
  • Viral
  • Food Fest
  • Abundance
  • Selections
  • Study Canteen
  • Canteen Empire
  • Dream Canteen
  • Radiance Canteen
  • Sun Valley Canteen
  • Canteen Hut
  • Metropolis Canteen
  • Canteen For Life
  • First Canteen
  • Beachside Canteen
  • Canteen Haven
  • Snacks Galore
  • Dine-In
  • Goodies
  • Munch Bunch
  • Meal Time!
  • Chow Down
  • Have a Bite
  • Happy Tummy
  • Snack Time
  • Next Level
  • The Food Guys

Funny Canteen Name Ideas

They say that laughter is a universal language. As such, a funny name can appeal to anywhere you decide to open. In this section, we’ve attempted to organize names that fit into this category.

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  • Chew Chew Train
  • Tummy Boy
  • Action Jackson
  • Starducks
  • Bread Pit
  • Chickpoint
  • The Last Supper
  • MacDonuts
  • Eats Good to Go
  • The Fried of California
  • Ken Afford
  • Ice Bucks
  • Let’s Do Eat
  • Nacho Fast
  • Steak Side
  • Tom Cruz Grill
  • Wok Man
  • Wrap and Roll
  • Meating Place
  • Bean Der Cafe
  • Five Thirsty
  • Brewer Than Brewed
  • Meatropolis
  • Eatscetera
  • Stick for More
  • Dish Man
  • Eats A Date
  • FoodCast
  • TwEater
  • EatsTaGram

Tips for Naming a Cafeteria

Not your ordinary cafeteria food.

Just like any other startup business, there are certain ways you can do to determine how you can come up with your unique business name. A lot of businesses use their own names to stand out from the crowd, while some use catchy names or phrases to have a good memory recall among its consumers. If you’re not settled with the idea, here are some tips you can do to name that startup cafeteria of yours.

  • Based on Mission Statement. Your mission statement embodies your values and an expression of who you are. Incorporating your mission statement into your cafeteria business name will reflect among your customers who you are and what you’re ready to share them. It may be in a form of paying homage to a person who is known to have made an impact on others or probably creating awareness about a certain cause.
  • Location-Based. Probably you’ve noticed that some eating places name their restaurants or cafeteria where they are based. This has been done to remind people where they’re located since most of us ask where a certain establishment is located when we’re trying to recall something we’ve been to. This eliminates the process of people searching for where you are located.
  • Use Catchy Names. Using catchy names such as funny ones will surely get everyone’s attention. Catchy names also create instant brand recall, making your cafeteria a top of mind among your customers. Just be sure that the menu you served will live up to your cafeteria name. You may refer to the name suggestions we’ve come up with earlier in this article.
  • Recognition. It is also a good idea to pay homage to what building you’re cafeteria is located. Cafeterias located inside known or historical buildings can tag along with your cafeteria on being remembered by your patrons. If the hospital you’re located in is named after a saint, try to play off it if that’s appropriate. It can also create instant brand recall in your cafeteria.

One last that thing that you should keep in mind is that this industry has been impacted by the global pandemic. Prior to 2020, you could expect the larger food contract industry that includes cafeteria businesses to grow. Instead the industry is projected to shrink by 9.5%.  This is largely the result of COVID-19 related precessions. With more employees working from home and less visitors being allowed in hospitals, it really cuts into the profitability of these businesses.

Longterm these food service businesses will return and flourish again, but in the coming months and even years, you should proceed with caution before opening this sort of business. If you’re serious about starting a food business, we encourage you to join our exclusive newsletter with 40,000+ food and beverage entrepreneurs. You’ll also get our Food Business Startup Kit immediately when you sign up.

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Hey! 👋I’m Brett Lindenberg, the founder of Food Truck Empire.

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