Dining spaces in senior living communities are evolving to provide not just a meal, but an experience that’s designed to fuel connection and belonging. “Dining is such an important part of everyone’s lives … and it’s a large piece of the social life of residents on a senior living campus,” says Brandon Dilla, senior associate at Perkins Eastman (Washington, D.C.).
At John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Fla., a campus redevelopment started with adding two new luxury residential towers and event space before an opportunity arose to also improve and expand the community’s dining offering as part of an “experience district.” At the time, the luxury independent and assisted living community had a small café and one main cafeteria-style dining building, which “wasn’t really giving residents the choice they are looking for in their community,” says Dilla, who was the architectural designer and project manager.
During the phased project, the design team replaced the main cafeteria with five distinct restaurant-style venues that support residents’ desire to choose what and where they eat. The project took home the top Platinum Award in Environments for Aging’s 2025 Dining Competition.
The refreshed dining offerings also connect to the experience district’s social, cultural, fitness, and residential components—which previously were spread out across the campus—via pedestrian pathways along the lake, creating a heart of activity on campus, Dilla says. “The evolution of dining into a more experiential environment isn’t something that’s going to go away,” he says. “Communities are working to step up their game as they reposition their offerings for future residents.”
How dining at The Davis Community creates opportunities for connections
Providing a restaurant-style experience, whether upscale or casual, is just the start for many projects that are redefining how dining venues can foster social interactions among residents. Project teams are also being strategic about where venues are placed and using design concepts that naturally support residents’ ability to connect with others through the activities they enjoy.
For example, the dining venues at John Knox are all adjacent to the community’s Cultural Arts Center. “So there’s the ability for residents to grab lunch or dinner and then go to a show, or as a means to entertain guests on campus before a show,” Dilla says.
At The Davis Community in Wilmington, N.C., Lantz-Boggio / Architects (LB/A; Denver) reimagined dining on the senior living campus as part of a vibrant, public-facing social hub, called The Promenade. The dining component, which won the Gold Award in EFA’s Dining Competition, incorporates two new restaurants in an area that also includes a fitness center, salon and spa, event space, and amphitheater.
By bridging dining with wellness and other activities, project teams can create experiences that are unique as well as timeless, says Bill Foster, lead design architect on the project. These social hubs are largely inspired by popular public squares that feature restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, he says. “We’re trying to create something that resonates with the residents when they come through the front door. We want them to feel at home but also like they’re getting something that they couldn’t get in their own homes,” he says.
Dining can also play an important role in delivering a sense of belonging to residents, Foster adds. For example, the dining spaces at The Modena Reserve Kensington in Kensington, Md., another LB/A project, are designed with features to support residents in both independent living and assisted living—an efficient strategy to create more choice. “Permanently defining assisted living and independent living dining venues with architectural features inherently limits choice at a time when our residents are demanding the opposite,” he says.
Instead, he says, by locating assisted living and independent living dining close together and using branding that doesn’t distinguish them as exclusively one or the other, residents can feel empowered and comfortable to visit the venue that suits their tastes that day. A choice of table arrangements, seating to accommodate different abilities and sizes, and convenient storage to house mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs also help make spaces feel friendly to all. “Residents, either from assisted living or independent living, can dine with more of a sense of independence,” Dilla says.
How dining venues at The Farmstead by Resthaven build in design flexibility
In addition to creating opportunities for connection, project teams also are fielding more requests for flexible dining venues that can serve multiple uses throughout the day to bring variety to residents, says Sharon Harper, associate and senior interior designer at THW Design (Atlanta).
For example, The Farmstead by Resthaven in Holland, Mich., a new-build project by THW Design and winner of the Silver Award in EFA’s Dining Competition, offers both a fine-
dining restaurant and a venue that serves as a coffee shop in the morning and a wine bar in the evening.
Residents also want authentic dining experiences that remind them of their favorite restaurants, cafés, and coffee bars, says Harper, who was part of the design team for the Resthaven project. “Residents are looking for farm-to-table experiences, local ingredients—the same things that many people look for in their favorite local restaurants,” she says, adding that the Resthaven coffee shop/wine bar is inspired by favorite dining spots in the community.
How John Knox Village utilizes dining venues to differentiate
As more communities deliver unique, community-specific dining options, they’re also utilizing them as a valuable marketing tool to help differentiate themselves from their competitors. Dilla notes that some communities host “lunch and learn” events to show off their unique dining spaces to potential residents. “During lunch, potential residents and their families get to experience the dining venues on campus and start to get a real feel for what the community is like,” he says.
Furthermore, he says, opening dining venues on senior living campuses to the local community could also help foster more opportunities for connection.
For example, at John Knox Village, a monthly “pop-up” dining experience on the rooftop terrace of the independent living building invites small groups of residents and visitors from the local neighborhood to sample from a curated wine-and-dinner-pairing menu. “We didn’t plan for dining to happen out on that terrace, but in the evenings in Florida, you have beautiful sunsets and can look down on the lake and the whole experience district that encircles it,” Dilla says.
“The ability to be able to bring the community onto a senior living campus is really important and allows for that intergenerational interaction,” he adds. “In that way, dining venues on a senior living campus aren’t necessarily acting as islands among themselves; they’re an outreach to the community.”
Robert McCune is senior editor of Environments for Aging and can be reached at robert.mccune@emeraldx.com.
