Going to a restaurant right before they close is not rude. What’s rude is posting hours that you claim you’re Open but are expecting people to act like you’re not.

Of course I get it: nobody wants to have to re-clean the kitchen or stay another hour after their shift ends waiting for you to eat. But the posted closing time was never meant to represent “the moment we all walk out the door.” Closing time is supposed to be when the cleanup and shutdown work starts.

Your restaurant closes at 10:00? Any sensible employer will schedule your shift to end at 10:30 or later (depending on the specific steps needed to clean and shut down your restaurant). The posted 10:00 was never meant to be the moment YOU walk out the door; it’s the moment customers are expected to know it’s time for THEM to walk out the door.

Rudeness is when customers stay past closing time. But it’s also posting a sign that effectively says, “We serve food until 10:00” and then treating your paying customers like jerks for wanting food at 9:45.

[EDIT] Well, this blew up. To all the haters: please take note of what sub you’re in. However, I’d also like to clarify that I am NOT advocating that customers shouldn’t give a crap about servers. It’s the exact opposite. I was advocating that considerate business owners should adjust their “Open” times to account for the necessary time for clean-up and close down. If you want your team to be able to go home at 10:00 and it takes two hours to tidy up, then your posted closing time should be at 8:00, not at 10:00. Hundreds of you also pointed out the simple idea of posting “Kitchen Closes” and “Doors Get Locked” times instead of one arbitrary “Close” time, and that’s absolutely a great thing for both servers and customers.

But in short, I ABSOLUTELY think that the lives and priorities of staff are not just important, but ESSENTIAL to running a restaurant. And for that reason, I think it’s rude for owners or managers not to clearly communicate the time customers need to get the hell out of the place so hardworking employees can wrap things up and get home to their own lives.