Pop-Ups Bad

Enough with the pop-ups, says Felix Salmon: “How, then, to explain pop-ups’ popularity? First, the semiotics of pop-up restaurants all scream, This is a great deal. Haphazard service, cheap chairs, liquor-license issues: Diners see these things and think they must be getting a bargain price. Second, there is the fleeting nature. Pop-ups are manufactured scarcity, a perfect draw for New Yorkers’ constant desire to find the new new thing.”