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Reserved Out

I had not paid attention to this trend of not being able to walk-in to a restaurant for dinner but seem to have seen evidence of it. Recently we were turned away from a place that had plenty of available seating and it was well ahead of closing time. The owner told us quite rudely she had no staff to serve more than the people already in so we needed to leave. At first it felt offensive to be treated that way but I could see her becoming frayed from being short-staffed and over-worked for a long time. 

There are a handful of reasons it’s more difficult to make restaurant reservations right now. Many spots still have limited hours and availability because of a lack of staff and ever-thinning margins. Some started leaning on reservations due to COVID-19 restrictions and to better predict earnings and staffing requirements—a practice some operators say continues to make business more predictable. And plenty of diners would still rather secure a spot outside, rather than wing it and have to spend a night breathing other people’s air.

The idea of eating out will lose its allure if it becomes too much of a process and cannot be a spontaneous act anymore.

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