365. Changing Locations

50:13 Regarding any food other than bread (and the seven species of Israel - Mishnah Brurah 178:45), if one changed location while eating, even though his attention was not diverted, it is considered as if it was. Therefore, if he ate or drank in one room and then went to another room to finish there, he must repeat the bracha in his new location. This is the case even if he is eating the same type of food, and even if he carried his food or drink with him to the other room. This only applies to the bracha before eating; he only says the concluding bracha once, after he has finished eating. (While we should not change rooms while eating, our practice is not to repeat a bracha unless we have actually left the building - Bi’ur Halacha 178:1 s.v. b’bayis echad.)

50:14 If one goes outside while eating and then returns to his original place to finish, he must repeat the bracha before the food. This is only the case when one is eating alone or when one is eating with others and they all change location. If one member of the group stays behind, then those who left do not repeat the bracha because the intention is to return and finish together. The one who remained behind “saves their place” as it were, so the group is not considered to have disbanded. (If they regroup elsewhere, they must recite a new bracha – MB 178:31.)