In the U.S. restaurant industry where businesses struggle for survival, differentiation is considered key for success. However, there is limited research on measuring how unique or exotic a specific restaurant cuisine is perceived, since such perceptions vary by markets. In this paper, authors utilize digital geolocation history from social media records of restaurant visits across 40 types of restaurants in Chicago and San Francisco, and a two parameter Item Response Theory model to identify a) restaurants that are unique and considered more or less “difficult” to get to, and b) visitors who have more or less diverse palates. Further, palate diversity is explained by user demographics, restaurant selection criterion and behavior. Managerial implications and limitations are discussed.

• Banerjee Syagnik(University of Michigan Flint, USA)
• Amit Poddar(Salisbury University, USA)