06/04/2026
CLOSING TIME
I’m going to risk an unpopular post that loses business not only because we’ve encountered this scenario based on our hours, but also because I think this issue is important enough for the industry as a whole.
We admittedly have an awkward and odd closing time for what is considered a “regular restaurant“.(I don’t see us as a “regular restaurant”, but that’s for another post.) Not only do we close at 2:30P between lunch and dinner, but we also close at 7:30P for dinner. That is usually a time of the evening when a significant portion of people are either eating dinner, finishing eating dinner, or thinking about eating dinner. I get it. It’s awkward to close at that time, but we do.
7:30P is our Dinner Closing Time.
2:30P is our Lunch Closing Time.
15 mins prior to Closing Time is takeout only.
30 mins prior to Closing Time is last reservation.
Most times it’s not an issue at all, but there are times when it does create an awkward situation. Someone will walk in close to 2:30P or 7:30P, and we welcome them while letting them know in advance that orders at that time are takeout only. Most times guests order. Sometimes guests leave because they wanted to dine-in.
In another scenario, someone will call with a phone request for a 2PM Lunch reservation or 7PM Dinner reservation. In those cases, I ask my team to inform the guest that we welcome the reservation and ask that they are mindful of our posted Closing Time. Most times, guests book the reservation knowing we close 30 minutes after their reservation time. Some choose to book at 1:45P or 6:45P instead. Sometimes, the guest chooses to book a table elsewhere.
Such was the case with a recent 7PM dinner reservation request, only it was a much bigger problem. It’s one I find worth addressing head-on.
After having a discussion with my FOH Team Member, the guest asked to speak with me. She explained that she found the mention of our Closing Time to be awkward during the booking of her reservation. During the course of our interaction, the guest further explained to me how disappointed she was that we were unwilling to take her 7PM reservation despite her having been a previous patron. In response, I explained that our position was the same as it always was, we were more than happy to take her 7PM reservation and ask that the party be mindful of the posted 7:30 Closing Time. This exchange happened a number of times: she explained her disappointment we wouldn’t take her reservation, and I explained we were happy to take it and asked her party be mindful of the posted Closing Time.
She chose to go elsewhere, not only to eat but also to social media to put me and the business on blast in attempt to harm me and it financially. I find the former completely understandable and acceptable. I find the latter anything but. To make matters worse, she decided to lie in her call-out about what actually happened.
I am posting her review in order to address it directly. I am also posting it to begin a larger discussion that seems to impact the restaurant industry disproportionately: guests hanging beyond posted Closing Time.
I never told this guest that she would have to leave the restaurant. I never told this guest that we would not take her reservation. In fact, this guest was told perhaps five times or more that we were happy to take her reservation. In addition, the guest was asked that the party be mindful of our posted 7:30P Closing Time. This guest REALLY did not like that ask. The ask for her party to be mindful of our posted 7:30P Closing Time was an annoying dealbreaker for her. She threatened withholding any future business over it.
Now, I imagine that this guest thought the threat of lost business would be a motivator to shift my position in order to help her. But I have to concede that nothing motivates me to help someone less than their threat of harm to me if I don’t. It’s an anti-motivator. In this scenario, I am happy to have the guest choose elsewhere.
I am not happy to have a guest LIE in order to try and get other guests to choose elsewhere. Take your business, and go. Leave the lies in the dust left behind. But the thing I am least happy about is this minor mention of a detail about Tuesday nights.
Yes, we will eventually start closing for dinner on Tuesday nights, because I need to find a balance in my life for my health and my family after the death of my father.
I have searched long and hard for an avenue that will impact our guests the least, putting them first I’ve thought about breakfast and lunch in hopes of reclaiming some time at the end of my day. I thought about closing Laurel Springs and going back to Marlton Monday through Friday. I thought about a lot. I shared that with this guest in passing and mentioned that Tuesday nights were our slowest so it made the most sense to try and reclaim some of my life then.
She chose to frame it in the context of me not caring about my guests. That was disappointing, and frankly a bit hurtful.
But nobody can stop anyone from being a jerk and using a heart-to-heart as a dagger in yours.
What I can do, however, is be open and honest and address these things head on.
Really what she wanted was the ability to hang out after closing until they moved on to their next engagement. That, in of itself, it’s just a complete sign of disrespect for me and my team.
For example: My brother shouldn’t have to pick up his daughter late just because a party wants to hang out and finish dessert before they move onto the movies, or whatever they had planned.
I’ll go deeper into the details of how those types of decisions by guests negatively impact restaurants, particularly small businesses.
For now, I want to leave it here:
We welcome any and all guest visits and reservations, and we strive to show you the utmost courtesy and respect while you dine with us.
We ask the same of you.
To be continued…a
