Gold Disk said:
I feel Restaurants would be a great addition. For one, they could heal health points.
creating a kitchen as an adjunct to the hotel might serve, since the hotel was usually the place you would find a multi-course meal, in town. saloons might also serve
limited fare to their patrons, such as sandwiches, but their main source of profits was from the beer and whiskey served. the lunch may have even been free, to entice the patrons to spend their money in that, particular saloon, but the town's hotel had the big, full kitchen. the reasoning being that the only ones who
needed someone else to cook for them were travellers, presumably staying at hotels. everyone else did their own cooking at home, and didn't "eat out" at the drop of a hat, as we do, today. perhaps a special occasion might call for a rare treat, but the cost of a dinner would have been luxuriously prohibitive, if maintained for any length of time.
there were many more choices of eating establishments back east, due to the fact that more and more [ostensibly "high"] "society" people were attempting to emulate their continental counterparts across the atlantic. but in the foundling west, folks tended to do for themselves, and might even look down upon those putting on "high-falootin' airs" of getting all "gussied up" and going to town and actually paying someone else to prepare their "vittles" for them.
Gold Disk said:
Second, a new skill called Cooking could be added, and with a high enough level you could working in one or even open your own.
part of the problem with that, is that there are only 5 skills per attribute. you might start an new attribute with only survival skills involved, though. maybe for those who have not yet founded/joined a town? cooking
would be a good skill, indeed; hunting another; maybe foraging, firemaking and shelter building? dunno what else, but yes, cooking is definitely a survival skill.