---
title: "Why Restaurant Brands Are Still Cutting Hours"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/95e0f1ca-c376-4d51-9ffe-71830ca30e20
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/why-restaurant-brands-are-still-cutting-hours-2720202
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2022-10-31T14:09:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:09:52.405Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/90a71a9c09d473045ed32eed22168fc87899.jpg
---

# Why Restaurant Brands Are Still Cutting Hours

**TL;DR:** Restaurant opening hours have declined 7.5% over the past three years, with the average restaurant open for 6.4 fewer hours per week than in 2019. Brands with over 500 units experienced a milder decline of 4.3%, or 4 hours a week.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-10-31. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/why-restaurant-brands-are-still-cutting-hours-2720202).*

## Story

Restaurant opening hours have declined 7.5% over the past three years. As of October 2022, the average restaurant is open for 6.4 fewer hours per week than it was in 2019, according to a new analysis from Datassential.

There are several factors contributing to the decline:

- The worker shortage has disproportionately impacted the food service industry.

- Demand for restaurants in certain cities and neighborhoods has declined since the pandemic began.

- The shift to work-from-home has led to reductions in both daytime and after-work traffic in key business centers.

- People are at home more often, meaning more eating in.

Notably, post-pandemic recovery has been tougher on independent restaurants than large franchises. Brands with over 500 units experienced a milder decline of 4.3%, or 4 hours a week.

The report found that restaurants are closing earlier than ever, with many shutting their doors by 8 or 9 P.M., instead of the traditional 10 or 11 P.M. For example, just 41.5% of restaurants were found to be open at 9:45 on Wednesdays, compared to 56.6% in 2019.

Other key findings from the report included:

- 58.6% of U.S. restaurants reduced their operating hours since 2019, while just 19.8% have increased them

- Independent restaurants (-7.5 hours per week) and casual dining sit-down restaurants (-8.9) exhibited particularly steep declines

- Just one state saw a net increase in open restaurant hours — Alaska (+2.7 hours per week)

- Blue states exhibited the greatest declines, with Washington DC (-12.5 hours per week), Vermont (-11.3), Maine (-9.8), New York (-9.5), Connecticut (-9.2) and Minnesota (-9.2) topping the list

- Denny’s (-30.1 hours per week), Texas Roadhouse (-21.2), IHop (-17.7), Subway (-16.0), and Einstein Brothers (-14.2) are among the chains that reduced their hours the most.

- Meanwhile, Wendy’s (+21.2 hours per week), Crumbl Cookies (+3.8), Boston Market (+2.7), Jack in the Box (+2.4), and In-n-Out Burger (+2.2) are among a smaller handful of chains that extended their operating hours.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- restaurant industry (topic)
- Wendy's (company)
- Subway (company)
- Jack in the Box (company)
- Denny's (company)
- pandemic impact (topic)
- IHOP (company)
- franchise performance (topic)
- Texas Roadhouse (company)
- Datassential (company)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/why-restaurant-brands-are-still-cutting-hours-2720202). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/95e0f1ca-c376-4d51-9ffe-71830ca30e20).