I take it to mean that the kitchen stops serving at 10.
I treat it as I should be out the door by ten, even if I’m technically allowed to stick around.
It means from 9:30 to 10:00, all dishes get an extra helping of dick cheese.
Closed at 10 means I should expect to have paid and be gone by 10. Same as any other commercial enterprise.
There restaurant where I worked closed at 12:15 during the week. We would take orders until 12:15, and we would stay until they were done with dinner, dessert, and after dinner coffee or drinks. The menu was mainly sandwiches - Hamburgers, French Dips, Reubens, with a couple of steaks on the menu so it wasn’t like we were serving five- course dinners, but I think the bar didn’t close until 12:45 or one so the people would often stay that long. As would we.
That’s basically what my impression of restaurant closing times are. You can place your order as long as you do it by the closing time. Honestly, in my opinion, I think that’s how restaurants should function. If you only want to stay until let’s say 10:00, then don’t close your restaurant at 10:00; close it at 9:30, or something like that.
Unless it’s a 24-hour restaurant, I imagine they really do need an “everybody out—you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here” time, whether it’s the official “closing time” on the sign or not, to keep people from sitting around for hours and hours, talking and nibbling at their food and drinking yet another cup of coffee.
The doors and the kitchen close at the posted time–there will be no new customers or orders–but I am under no obligation to leave immediately. I don’t stay extremely long and actually delay anyone, though their closing-up pattern may be adjusted, and I leave a little better tip. But I’m certainly going to finish my meal in a civilized way.
If I am reading correctly, Gary was not turned away. It was his friend that said they shouldn’t even try going in.
Depends on the restaurant. The sign could say closes at 10PM, but if they start breaking down (cleaning) the kitchen you may get a limited menu if you walk in at 9:30. Other restaurants you may be able to get served food right up until 10PM. As staff it’s generally assumed just because it says closes at 10PM doesn’t mean you’ll be out the door at 10:07 and on your way home.
I’ve seen some restaurants that had signs to the effect of “kitchen closes at 10 pm” so there would be no guessing involved.
I expect that it means that you’ll be done and gone by the posted closing time. Oh, there can be a little leeway–say, five or ten minutes if you’re finishing up and paying off the tab–but IMHO, you shouldn’t expect that you can arrive at 9:59 and get a full meal, proper table service, and suchlike, when the place states that it closes at 10:00.
I’ve never understood, nor observed, it to mean patrons out the door at 10 p.m. (using the OP’s times). But I’ve always used a general 1/2 hour-ish buffer, so the food will be out of the kitchen by 10 p.m., so I wouldn’t come in at 9:45 to place an order.
I get the sage advice of not pissing off your food servers.
That said, I don’t think they’re entitled to go home a 10. If one really feels so entitled, maybe they shoudn’t be working in the food service industry.
As a former server, finishing up a little after 10:00 (say 10 minutes) is perfectly acceptable. Beyond 15 minutes is rude. As to ordering, I wouldn’t go into a nice restaurant after 9:30 and a fast food place past 9:45.
It means the servers start giving you dirty looks at 9:55.
But that’s NOT the same as any other commercial enterprise. In my store, if the sign says we close at 6:00, that means no new customers come in the door after 6:00. If someone came in at 5:59, I am happy to let them shop, fix them tea, and take their money. I will probably say something by 6:15 or 6:20, but not always.
That is correct.
That is precisely my issue. I don’t care what time the restaurant closes. I just want a clear, unambiguous sign in front, and these poll results make is obvious that an “open until 10:00” sign is NOT universally understood – not even close.
Bars have a closing time and a “last call” and those times are different. If last call is 2:00, I know I can order a drink at 2:00 and hang around until closing time to drink it. Restaurants should have signs saying “last dinner orders accepted at 10:00,” or “last seating at 10:00.”
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:35, topic:651145”]
these poll results make is obvious that an “open until 10:00” sign is NOT universally understood – not even close.
[/QUOTE]
That’s exactly true. There’s no universal meaning to the time. Like I said above, for me, at a sit down restaurant, I allow a half hour buffer (and even that is sometimes cutting it a little close). I’ve been to enough restaurants where coming in twenty minutes before close–even with the owners there–would not allow seating. Unless it was a fast food place, I wouldn’t even bother stopping 15 minutes before close. (At the same time, as I mention before, I’ve never been at a restaurant where a 10 p.m. close means everyone out the door at that time. There is usually at least a 15 minute buffer, if not a half hour or more.)
Now, at the coffeeshop I worked at in college, we’d let people in until closing time, and then kick them out 30-45 minutes after close. It all depended on how much work there was to do. Usually, there was 30-45 minutes of work that could be done before we had to start kicking out customers to finish it off. So, if was a 10 p.m. posted closing time, the workers didn’t expect to be home until 10:45 p.m. at the earliest, more tyically 11 p.m., and as late as 11:30 p.m. if the place was entirely mobbed (like during a festival weekend.)
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:35, topic:651145”]
But that’s NOT the same as any other commercial enterprise. In my store, if the sign says we close at 6:00, that means no new customers come in the door after 6:00. If someone came in at 5:59, I am happy to let them shop, fix them tea, and take their money. I will probably say something by 6:15 or 6:20, but not always.
[/QUOTE]
That’s because you’re the owner, dear. 
I guarantee your employees (if you have employees, I’m not sure) are not “happy” to let them in at 5:59. If they’re good employees, they’ll do it, and they will never ever let the patrons *know *they’re not happy, but they’re not happy.
This is exactly where I am on it. When I worked in restaurants no one was turned away, but I would never do it and I’m not sure why people do. If you’re seated 1 minute before closing you’re sure to have resentful staff waiting on you and cooking your food. Because management and staff have two different expectations of what closing times mean, and staff want to go home.
I’ve heard that last part repeatedly in this thread, and I don’t understand it. If I went to work in a restaurant, I would expect the boss to tell me something like this:
“There’s a sign in the window that says we close at 10:00. That means nobody new comes in the door after 10:00. If you’re on the closing shift, expect to work until 11:00. If there’s nobody here at 10:00, close the door, clean up, and go home early. If you have to stay until 11:00, you get paid until 11:00. If you leave at 10:15, you get paid until 10:15.”
Why on earth would I be resentful if someone came in, ate, and tipped me during time that I’m getting paid to work anyway? Most of the restaurant workers I know need the money.
I voted that 10 closing means you can come in at 9:59.
Would I? Well, it depends on the parking lot. If theres other people dining at 9:59 then I feel comfortable going in. The restaurant will be open for awhile anyhow. But if the restaurant is empty then I’m not going to be the only diner in there. I’ll go by Wendy’s for takeout instead.