While many children - and their parents, for that matter - go straight home from school and work each day, the right family-friendly restaurant furniture could help to create an entirely new after-school snacking market.
School typically ends earlier than work - often as early as 3-3:30pm - and if restaurants were able to tap into the end-of-day school rush, an entirely new late-afternoon peak period could be created.
This would fit perfectly between the existing lunchtime and teatime rushes, and would be unlikely to interfere with evening services where a more mature environment is required or desired.
It's not out of the question that this might be achievable, particularly if your establishment serves 'light bites' or other small snacks, perfect for filling children up if they have reached the end of the school day in a state of hunger.
Research from consumer analyst Mintel suggests that there is an untapped market opportunity to do so, with 86% of young people aged 7-15 who snack at all saying that they do so at least once per day.
In 52% of cases, children who snack say they do so several times each day, or constantly.
If that last figure sounds worrying in light of rising childhood obesity, it does not need to; snacking can have positive health impacts by helping to maintain concentration levels, and ensuring children get their five portions of fruit and veg per day.
A massive 72% of children snack on fresh fruit, while 70% go for savoury snacks like crisps, and 58% prefer chocolate, indicating the broad range of this untapped market.
While Mintel speak of the opportunity in terms of food manufacturers and retailers, restaurateurs have an even more direct route to market, and much greater flexibility to alter their menus without the need for a trend to have taken hold of the full supply chain.
As such, if you have restaurant furniture suited to younger diners - or are investing in some new family-friendly chairs and tables - the post-school snacking segment could be worth considering.
The infamous 'nag factor', in which the child's desires help to boost sales in sectors such as toy retail, could also be brought to bear here, as Mintel found 49% of all parents buy snacks based on their child's preferences, and 40% give their child a direct say in what they eat - potentially meaning that, in the future, pester power could add a restaurant trip to the drive home from school.