At many restaurants, it's fair game to show up at the last minute and receive full service. Many feel, however, that doing so is inconsiderate to the restaurant's staff, who can't finish up their closing tasks and go home until the final customer leaves. Just because you can, some say, doesn't mean you should.
A Strategic Move
Some businesses have taken it upon themselves to answer this question by closing their kitchens early. At that point, no more orders are taken for the rest of the night, and the staff can focus on finishing up with their remaining customers, begin the process of shutting down the restaurant and (hopefully) go home on time.Alexander Urrunaga, the vice president of branding and development for Local Favorite Restaurants (El Fenix, Snuffer’s, Twisted Root) sees the merits of this strategy not just in terms of staff morale, but also from a business perspective.
“Labor, food, and beverage costs significantly impact a restaurant's bottom line, making it imperative to optimize productivity,” Urrunaga tells the Observer. “Closing kitchens early can be a strategic move to manage costs and ensure resources are utilized efficiently.”
The opinion of the customer is still his top priority, however.
“The business relies on positive guest experiences,” Urrunaga says. “Closing kitchens early improves productivity but should never come at the expense of the guest experience.”
While closing the kitchen early gives the staff an advantage in finishing their work on time, it can sometimes be confusing for customers who believe that "open" means "open," and a restaurant should be taking orders until closing time.
This sentiment is echoed by Jon Alexis, owner of several Dallas hotspots, including Birdie's Eastside. He's trying a new method to balance guest expectations and staff productivity.
“We hate closing Birdie's Eastside’s kitchen,” says Alexis. “We are trying the opposite approach. We will be debuting a late-night menu one cook can operate. That way we don’t have to turn guests away.”
Not all businesses have such a cut-and-dry approach for handling guests at the end of the day. At restaurants that serve up to the last minute, closing-time etiquette is left up to personal opinion. Not surprisingly, opinions vary drastically.
Closing In on Closing Time
Since the pandemic, going out for a late dinner is on the decline in general. A 2022 report from Datassential revealed that the average restaurant is open for 6.4 fewer hours than in 2019, and fewer than half of restaurants are open past 9 p.m.A survey conducted by Tasting Table indicates that this matches changing consumer habits. Only 4% of those surveyed selected “late-night” as their preferred time to eat out, leading the publication to name it “the worst time to visit a restaurant.”
But the question remains: What are those 4% who prefer to eat late to do when a restaurant can’t accommodate them?
It’s pretty easy to ascertain where restaurant workers tend to stand on this issue, mostly because they’re extremely vocal about it online.
In a thread in the “Tales From Your Server” subreddit called “How late is douchey to show before closing time at a restaurant?” anonymous servers rail against customers who they believe can’t manage their time.
“If you do not have time to fully conclude your business before the posted closing time, you showed up too late,” reads one response. “Maybe you need a watch. Maybe you need better life-planning skills. What you don't need is to be waited on hand and foot, holding up the staff at your favorite (or the closest) restaurant because you and your party don't have their lives together.”
(This commenter also clarifies that they were speaking on behalf of employees at full-service restaurants and that different principles may apply to fast food.)
While a server may think that it’s in bad taste to come in during the last hour, the customer has no way of knowing that unless it’s posted on the door. As annoying as staying a little later might be, not every customer who crosses your invisible line is a disorganized, out-of-touch monster trying to ruin your night.
Customers have also taken to social media to call out restaurant workers who they thought were punishing them for doing nothing wrong.
“Sorry for bothering you during your business hours,” TikToker Taylor Peterson sarcastically bemoaned in a vlog following such an experience.
She had placed a to-go order more than 40 minutes before the restaurant was scheduled to close. After being “given shit” by the employee she spoke to on the phone, she showed up 10 minutes later to find that she had been locked out. Peterson had to call the store (from directly outside) and speak to the manager to get her food.@paylorteterson Im a door mat #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Taylor Peterson
The video, uploaded last Thursday, currently has 600,000 views and almost 1,000 comments. Many agreed that her treatment was unreasonable and claimed the employees were lazy and mad at her for making them do their jobs.
But others insisted it was her fault for ordering in the last hour.
The Golden Rule
While brazen hostility from both customers and servers is never acceptable, there’s still no clear-cut answer for when it’s “too late” to arrive. Sure, it may technically be OK, but factors like the size of your party, what you’re planning to eat and exactly how long you plan to stay could determine whether you get dirty looks from the staff (and, to be honest, deserve it).Industry professionals have differing opinions on where the line is. Joanna Sciarrino, editor-in-chief of Vine Pair, offered this approach for those of us who like structure in her “Ask Joanna” column:
“If you’re going to a restaurant with the intention of having a late dinner, a good rule of thumb is to arrive at least 30 minutes before the kitchen closes,” writes Sciarrino. “Even better would be to make a reservation, so the staff knows you’re coming and can offer the best dining experience possible.”
The Takeout’s “Salty Waitress” column brings to light a gray area in the discussion. The writer admits that while they’ve experienced late shifts where they “[watch] the clock as you eat your mashed potatoes,” they have also had days where they were grateful for the extra tips no matter how late they came in.
Their guidance generally veers into “golden rule” territory, which goes for both customers and staff.
“Be kind. Tip well,” they write. “If you get rushed or half-assed service, don’t go back.”
