Demand for an earlier reservation is up as more folks are jumping on the early bird trend. “We’ve seen a huge decrease in guests that are dining later,” says the general manager of New York City’s location of ilili, a Lebanese restaurant. “That 10 p.m. guest is not coming anymore.”
The trend is intermittent fasting. The idea is you only have a few hours to eat each day and then you fast for the rest. Most people who are doing it try to have a late breakfast and an early dinned so that a big portion of the fast is done while sleeping.
According to the manager, the restaurant’s busiest time used to be from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., but now it’s from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. But the trend isn’t only happening in New York City, as “The Wall Street Journal” reports restaurants are now seating 10% of their diners before 5 p.m. Uber rides to restaurants during the 4 p.m. hour are also up 10%, while rides after 8 p.m. are down 9%, according to the Journal.
Restaurants sre scrambling to adjust hours of cooks and servers. A diner named Michael says it gives him more freedom and flexibility, while a diner named Judy notes she feels better when she eats dinner earlier. She says, “I sleep better and actually have lost weight.”
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