Solo diners are fleeing to the Bayonet seafood restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, as the restaurant caters to the "party of one." CBS News' Jan Crawford scored a seat at the joint, and spoke to chef Rob McDaniel about the experience for our series "The Dish."

Birmingham

Bayonet, a restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, is gaining recognition for its innovative approach to solo dining. Chef Rob McDaniel has created an environment where solo guests are given prime seats and engaging culinary experiences, such as interactive raw bar presentations, rather than being relegated to the bar or overlooked.

The restaurant's efforts have resonated with a growing number of Americans who dine out alone, with statistics showing that solo diners spend more on average and often seek social interaction. Bayonet's welcoming atmosphere, combined with its unique dining experiences, aims to eliminate the stigma often associated with eating alone and encourages guests to enjoy their time, whether alone or with others.

Alabama restaurant ends stigma around eating alone

A series of dish takes a look then at how some restaurants are catering to the lonely gal or guy solo diners. Jan Crawford scored a seat at one such restaurant that's been named one of America's best. Let me know if you'll have any questions as I'm going. When Chef Rob McDaniel brings out this 88 pound tuna. Anytime we have a really pretty tuna head like this we'll smoke it next door. He reels in a crowd ready to share the experience of seeing it carved up together. And with this feast for the eyes. I'm taking off the ribs right now or just any we accumulate goes into our tuna burger. You may at first miss that in the front row for the show is almost all solo diners. That tuna burger is fire. Customers restaurants once politely put up with or put at the bar. But not McDaniel. The guests that is by themselves. That is a huge opportunity to really like wow them an opportunity to give them an experience that they weren't expecting. When a big catch comes in Bayonet in Birmingham Alabama offers this interactive raw bar experience on social media and solo diners snap it up. I kind of like dining alone sort of a party of one you know and I can talk to these guys or whoever's around me and it's it's kind of a good way to sort of shut the brain off and just enjoy the moment. One in five Americans now regularly dine out alone and about half of younger professionals say they eat out alone every week. To me it's just a cool opportunity to chat to somebody like we saw Bex Korea do with Gina Reaser right next door. Did you guys know each other? And restaurants are eating it up too. The American Table says solo diners spend 48% more on average $84. If you come in and you sit by yourself and we give you an amazing experience what we have done is planted a seed for the next time that you are here you may be by yourself again or you may be with four other people. But McDaniel knows there still can be a stigma. When you walk into a restaurant and the person at the door says just one well that immediately makes you feel uncomfortable. And we don't want to do that. Southern hospitality comes naturally to the North Alabama native. Do you remember what you cooked first when you were growing up? It was magnetic alphabet letters on a sheet pan with a spatula. I was on the floor and I was just moving that stuff around. His earliest memories in the kitchen are with his grandmother Helen. McDaniel and his wife Emily named their first restaurant right next door for her before opening Bayonet where he's created this one-of-a-kind experience that's giving solo diners a reason to look up. It pops right through. I mean I look at this as an opportunity to not be on my phone. That's one of my biggest pleasures is if I can walk around and go and look at a bar, look at a group of people and there's no phones unless they're taking pictures. Twenty-two percent of solo diners say they'd strike up a conversation with the staff. Twenty-seven percent say they'd even invite other solo diners to their table, meaning one of the best parts of going to a restaurant alone is you never know who you may end up sharing a meal with. For CBS Mornings, I'm Jan Crawford in Birmingham, Alabama. I like this way of thinking because I'm always very reluctant to go alone, but Bayonet makes me think differently. I went to a restaurant once on by myself and the waiter comes and says, ma'am, your book is upside down. Because I'm trying to look like I'm doing something or somebody's coming. But I like his thinking because if you walk in the restaurant and they go, just you, it does feel kind of sad. So you're like, I know.

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