4 Thoughtful Ways to Thank Your Waiter on National Waitstaff Day

"In the days when the Roman Empire was expanding, it was common for peasants to travel several days at a time to bring their goods into the city markets," according to National Today. "They would stay at inns along the way, eating at a common table with other travelers, with the innkeeper and his family doing the cooking and serving of the meals. There were no menus — every meal was the chef's choice."

By 1787, the French Revolution had changed the dining experience.

"Prior to the French Revolution, guilds controlled how food was sold," according to National Today. "For example, if you were a charcutier (producing cooked meats), but didn't belong to the charcutier's guild, it would have been illegal for you to sell your goods. But after the Revolution, guilds were banned, which resulted in many chefs losing their jobs in aristocratic homes. The more enterprising of these chefs started their own restaurants, introducing a style of fine dining based on their experiences in private chateaux and manor houses, with linens, china, and crystal gracing their tables. Serving the sumptuous menus were men who, in many cases, were previously employed as footmen or butlers in fine mansions."

Then, in the 1800s, the restaurant scene started growing in Europe and North America. Trains and automobiles fueled a rise in luxury tourism, which created the demand for restaurants that were more than just a necessity while traveling. This, of course, let to new job opportunities for the waitstaff we still celebrate today.