Food stand

Food stands are community lot objects that allow Sims to purchase food or drinks. Unlike other food-selling vehicle objects, these objects stand still at one object and have one Sim as a vendor. Bars are similar, however, it would focus on drinks, relating to mixology skills instead of cooking recipes and usually appears in night clubs and restaurants instead. Espresso bars focus on coffee and dessert and usually appear in cafe lots.

Some food stands appear for special occasions only.

The Sims
Food stands were first introduced in The Sims: Hot Date, and more were added in every subsequent expansion after. They give Sims an opportunity to replenish hunger while they are on community lots, but differ from restaurants in that Sims do not need to be formally seated.

Sims can purchase food or drinks from these stands, and can choose from up to three different types of foods, depending on the vendor. Some food stands, however, only sell one type of food. The Sim will watch as the vendor prepares the food before handing it to them, after which they will either find a place to sit and enjoy their food, or consume it standing up.

The Sims 2
Three new food stands were introduced The Sims 2: Bon Voyage—one for each vacation destination—along with an additional fast food stand from The Sims 2: Apartment Life. They consist of a small kitchen staffed by an NPC chef, with a bar and four stools at the front. Sims can seat themselves on one of the stools and order a plate for themselves, after which the chef will prepare and serve the meal directly to the Sim, who will eat it at the stand. The chef will also clear off finished plates from the bar. Sims cannot remove plates from the stand and eat it elsewhere, although it is possible for Sims to eat abandoned food left on the stand.

The stools on the food stands are technically separate objects, but will follow the stand when it is moved in buy mode. If the Bon Voyage patch is installed, the stools can be removed from the stand separately.

Although they can be placed in owned businesses and can have their prices changed, Sims cannot assign employees to staff them; instead, they will spawn their usual NPC chefs. Since chefs do not need to be paid, food stands can be used to sell food for free.

If the food stand is located in a vacation destination, Sims can ask the chef for travel tips.

The Sims 3
Concession stands from The Sims 3: Seasons can sell food from the food and ice cream trucks. A list of items sold by the concession stand can be found here.

The Sims 3: Island Paradise includes two new food stands. Sims can hire staff to serve food with three food quality options: low (§15/day), medium (§25/day) and high (§50/day).

The Sims 3 Store offers two stands in the Humble Harvest Stands set.

The Sims 4
Food stalls were reintroduced in The Sims 4: City Living. Each stall sells its own unique menu of food. Sims learn to cook the type of food from the food stall after they eat it. Food stalls located in the neighborhood space will spawn a vendor automatically. For food stall placed on a lot, Sims can hire a vendor for §100.

The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs adds three new food stalls that also sell pet food and pet supplies. They can be found around the Sable Square and Whiskerman's Wharf neighborhoods in Brindleton Bay.

The Sims 4: Jungle Adventure includes the Selvadoradian Food Stall, which comes with 10 recipes. To learn the recipes, Sim need to eat one dish from the food stall and reach Level 3 of Selvadoradian culture skill. Three secret dishes are unlocked when Sims reach Level 5 of the Selvadoradian culture skill.

The seasonal food stalls from The Sims 4: Seasons spawn in all the worlds that don't have food stalls. The look and menu of the food stall will change depending on the season. There are four food stalls in total, one for every season.