If you’ve been sitting around wondering, “Just how far is Apple willing to go to keep the latest iPhone or iPad a secret?” we think we’ve got an answer for you. Because so many people out there are hungrier than ever to get the inside scoop on what’s going on inside Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.—everyone from fellow tech companies to the paparazzi would kill for a chance to find out what’s going on behind closed doors at Apple—the house that Steve Jobs built has decided to build a restaurant for its employees in order to keep the company’s biggest secrets a secret.

Yes, a restaurant. And when we say “a restaurant,” we’re not talking about a glorified cafeteria here. We’re not talking about a collection of fast-food chains tucked inside Apple, Inc. either. We’re talking about a full-fledged, 21,468-square foot restaurant in Cupertino that will only be open to employees who work at Apple. Tourists? Get lost. Locals? Head to Applebee’s. Spies from rival companies? Ha! Party of one, you table is not ready. Apple is hoping that this will encourage their employees to speak openly about the new touch screen on the iPad 4 or the cool new specs on the iPhone 5 at lunch without forcing them to look over their shoulders every two seconds.

“We like to provide a level of security so that people and employees can feel comfortable talking about their business, their research, and whatever project they’re engineering without fear of competition overhearing their conversations,” Apple’s director of real estate facilities Dan Whisenhunt said last week. “That is a real issue today in Cupertino because we’ve got other companies here in our same business.”

Sounds slightly paranoid, but also really smart. I mean, when you’ve got billions of dollars in the bank collecting dust, why not put a few million of them towards a restaurant that could potentially earn you billions more? It’s just another example of why Apple continues to leave their competition in the dust. Or, more appropriately, eating alone.

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