There’s this unwritten rule in society (for some of us) to not go into a restaurant if it’s closing in the next 10 to 15 minutes. Sure, there’s some breathing room, but generally people who work in restaurants want to go home. Staying after close? Egregious. One restaurant worker recently called a couple out publicly on TikTok. Did they deserve it? You decide.
User amillioniccc has gone viral after they posted a video ostensibly from inside a restaurant. The restaurant was a Shake Shack franchise location in Miami, and amillioniccc sets up the camera at the end of the table while they were cleaning.
“These people been sitting here making so much mess While i’m trying [to] close,” the caption said.
In the video, amillioniccc is sweeping up while a man in a blue shirt is seen in the background. Amillionicc is not happy.
“So riddle me this,” they said. “If I’m closing the store down, why would you sit your f*t funky ass down and keep eating when you see me sweeping and cleaning?”
This isn’t a quiet rant, either. It can be heard echoing throughout the restaurant. Obviously, these tardy diners have struck a nerve. But can you blame Amillionicc? Who wants to be at work longer than they have to?
“Get up and leave so I can sweep and clean up and go,” they said. “It’s closing time.”
Then they said something that really puts the whole thing into perspective. “We closed 31 minutes ago.”
Who stays in a restaurant a whole half hour after it closes? Then they move to the side to give us a better view of our tardy customers. They seem very relaxed. Blue shirt guy is leaning on another chair like he’s ready to sit there for another two hours.
Amillioniccc then looked at the camera and said, “make it make sense.”
Legend has it they’re still sitting there at this very moment, frozen in time. Of course, if we look at the bigger picture, restaurants are still in flux while recovering from the pandemic, and eating habits have been amorphous as well.
Per Nation’s Restaurant News, people are more likely to get meals to go during the nighttime, so this particular couple is sort of an outlier. David Portalatin, a Circana food industry advisor, said that full-service dinner visits were down 13% after a bump last year.
“We’re seeing strong customer traffic at breakfast and morning snack, which means consumers are looking for convenience and portable meals and snacks,” Portalatin said. “On the other hand, dinner and lunch visit growth has been slower due to home-centric behaviors being stickier at these dayparts. At lunch, consumers have other choices, including bringing items from home or going to a workplace cafeteria, offering subsidized pricing or no-cost options. Additionally, the higher average check for lunch and dinner may make them less appealing to some consumers.”
This puts us in a tough spot. We need more nighttime diners, but let’s not abuse the privilege like this half-hour-over couple who seem to have lost all basic human decency. Have some respect!
