Tough getting a reservation lately at your favorite restaurant — or any restaurant for that matter? Across the nation, restaurants are open fewer hours and closing earlier.

Nearly 4 in 5 restaurants nationwide have reduced their hours since 2019. They’ve done so by an average of 6.4 hours (7.5 percent), according to a recent Datassential report. Restaurants that were once open until 10 or 11 p.m. are now open until 8 or 9 p.m. Washington, D.C., Vermont and Maine topped the list of states where restaurant hours have declined the most; Alaska was the only state that actually saw restaurant hours increase.

There are two main reasons, Sean Jung, an assistant professor at the School of Hospitality Administration at Boston University, told Grid.

One: There aren’t as many customers — and those who are coming aren’t night owls

Wait, aren’t a good chunk of us putting on actual clothing (other than sweats) and heading back to restaurants to eat? Yes, but not all of us. Compared to pre-covid numbers, consumer demand for restaurants has declined, especially in areas closed down during the pandemic, Datassential reported.

And clearly we all need to work on our staying-out stamina again because late-night restaurant hours aren’t popular anymore either. Although to be fair, they may never have been. Those later seatings were often accommodating patrons trying to get into a restaurant, who didn’t get that 7 p.m reservation in time, said Jung.

Peak restaurant hours are generally 11 a.m....

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