Why do Indian restaurants close in the afternoon

Have you ever wondered why most Indian restaurants are closed during the afternoon?  More specifically, most Indian restaurants around the world, including the United States, are closed between 2:00 PM and 5:30 PM;  Why does this happen?  

I am going to answer this question in today's discussion.  I hope you stay with me throughout the article to know why Indian restaurants close in the afternoon.

Mainly when most Indian restaurants closed their doors?

Most Indian restaurants are closed on Monday or Tuesday every week.  But since we are talking about Indian restaurants being closed during a certain period of the day, our main goal is to determine the most common closing times for Indian restaurants.

Naturally, the busiest hour of any restaurant is 15.00 - 20.00.  The time starts in the afternoon.  The true picture of all Indian restaurants is that they close between 10 pm and 12 midnight.

But some Indian restaurants are closed from noon to afternoon and some restaurants stop all activities including food serving from afternoon to evening.

Why do Indian restaurants close in the middle of the day and the afternoon?  This is uncovered in the next part of the discussion.

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Which city of the USA has the most Indian restaurants? 

Like Asian restaurants, the majority of Vietnamese & French restaurants also keep their doors closed in the afternoon. I have elaborated on why this is the case in a separate article.

Why do Indian restaurants close in the afternoon?

I found a common factor in all the content I analyzed on the Internet in search of an answer to this question.  That common factor is Indian tradition and culture.

The reality is that there are more important reasons behind this temporary closure than tradition and culture. The reasons are unknown to many.  They are:

1. Indians' common business practice

A common business practice in India is to continue full-time business work from morning till noon and take a break at noon.  It is less in the restaurant business but more noticeable in other businesses (grocery).

This long-standing common business practice affects the Indian restaurant business.  After opening the restaurant early in the morning and working continuously till 14.00 or 14.30, taking a break gradually became the regular working hours of the restaurant owners.

This practice of Indian restaurant owners gradually became common and Indians started closing their restaurants from noon to afternoon.

2.  Providing dinner service only

Some restaurant owners operate the business by following different business strategies.  Instead of breakfast and lunch, they keep the restaurant closed all day to offer only dinner service at night.

In this way, they keep the restaurant closed during the rest of the day keeping the business active only for a certain part of the day.  This is one of the reasons why Indian restaurants are closed till the afternoon.

3.  Staff Breaks

Giving workers a break at a certain time allows them to restore work energy.  This break creates a pleasant working environment in Indian restaurants which is especially attractive to customers.

This is also a type of business strategy.  As a result, the operation of the restaurant is temporarily closed.  But everything is managed healthily with the business balancing skill of the Indian owners.

4. Customer Behavior

Customer Behavior plays an important role in Indian restaurants being closed during this particular period of the day.  A restaurant may have more customers in the morning due to various reasons.  Some restaurants are crowded with customers only during dinner.

This kind of customer behavior keeps the restaurant sometimes full and sometimes empty.  In this situation, restaurant owners keep their restaurants open only during peak hours.

5.  Cleaning and preparing for dinner

If a restaurant is open from morning to noon, the interior environment of the restaurant gradually starts to get a little dirty.  This is normal and this phenomenon is common in almost all restaurants.

Indian restaurant owners choose lunchtime to restore the clean atmosphere of the restaurant.  From noon to afternoon the cleaning work continues and the preparations for dinner begin.

Are all Indian restaurants closed in the afternoon?

Not, this phenomenon of afternoon closing does not happen in all Indian restaurants.  Consider this an isolated incident.  Because few Indian restaurants are closed at noon (2.00) or in the afternoon.

But the good news is that such unwanted shutdowns are gradually decreasing.  Businessmen are now on the way to change their business strategy.

Why do most restaurants close early?

There are several reasons why most restaurants close early. According to a statement provided to Upside, the main reason behind the early closure of many Indian restaurants is a lack of staff. 

Since Indian restaurants often employ part-time workers who leave after their shift, their absence leads to a shortage of staff. Additionally, restaurants close early to minimize additional costs during slow hours.

Final Words

Finally, I will say that if you are planning to go to an Indian restaurant in the afternoon or lunch, you must check the opening of that restaurant. By this, you can avoid all kinds of closure.