New Trend: Suddenly, a Lot More People Are Early Birds
If this trend keeps going, Grandma's gonna have to start eating dinner at noon: "The Wall Street Journal" just did a big article on an emerging trend: Suddenly, a lot more of us are EARLY BIRDS for some reason.
Restaurants are now seating 10% of customers between 2:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. That's up from 5% in 2019.
They're also closing earlier, because it doesn't make financial sense to stay open. Getting a reservation at 7:00 P.M. can be easier than at 5:00 now . . . it's always been the opposite of that. And the new trend is to close the kitchen around 8:00.
Uber says trips to restaurants between 4:00 and 5:00 P.M. are up almost 10% since 2019. And rides to restaurants after 8:00 P.M. are down 9%.
They're not the only ones adjusting. Even Broadway shows are starting earlier now. 8:00 P.M. used to be the norm for a Friday show. But now a third of them are starting at 7:00 P.M. on Fridays.
So why are people shifting from night owls to early birds? No one's sure, but here are two theories.
It's become trendier for young people to be healthy, avoid alcohol, and get a full night's sleep. So that's one possible factor.
Working from home might be another one. If you don't have to drive home and get ready before you go out, you can meet up with people earlier. Plus, skipping out of work early is easier if your boss isn't there.
(WSJ)
Originally posted on July 20th, 2023