How Place Attachment Moderates the Relationship Between Perceived Authenticity and Revisit Intention to Time-Honored Restaurants

This study investigated how perceived authenticity influences consumers’ revisit intention to time-honored restaurants and explored the moderating role of place attachment in this relationship. Data were collected from 319 consumers with prior experience at time-honored restaurants using SK Telecom’s T Membership online survey platform. The results revealed that food authenticity, brand value, and nostalgia significantly influenced revisit intention, whereas historical and cultural values and environmental authenticity did not. Food authenticity exerted the strongest influence as an emotional driver. Moderation analysis revealed that environmental authenticity was more influential for consumers with low place attachment, while nostalgia was stronger among those with high attachment. These results demonstrate that authenticity dimensions exert distinct effects depending on emotional bonds with a place. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying the role of authenticity in shaping behavioral intentions. Furthermore, by repeatedly visiting time-honored restaurants and perceiving their authenticity, consumers experience positive emotions and enhance their life satisfaction, which are closely connected to their psychological and subjective wellbeing. Therefore, time-honored restaurants play an important role as sustainable cultural venues that foster life satisfaction and wellbeing.