For many people, the weekend is a good time to take a break and cook and go to a good restaurant for something to eat. You can get a refill for free, and you don't have to get up or wash the dishes.

However, if you are one of those people who want to start a new week by visiting the service industry, you are usually unlucky. Many independent restaurants greet potential customers with "closed" signs on Mondays. This was the case even before the COVID-19 pandemic rearranged business practices. Why is the restaurant closed?

in short, it doesn't make much economic sense to open on Monday.

in the catering industry, Monday is usually the slowest day of the week. Although no one has conducted an extensive survey, the reason may be that people indulge themselves from Thursday to Sunday and use weekends as the cut-off point for rich food and expensive wine to go to a good restaurant (or home delivery).

this is not always the case. Depending on the times or regions, restaurants will-and may still-remain open on Mondays to earn meager profits and avoid talking about bad work. Other restaurants may try to formulate strategies and hold art exhibitions or bring their own wine specialties to promote business growth.

Although there are ways to boost profits on Monday, this is not the only reason why restaurant owners shut down. Most locally run organizations have a small number of employees, so keeping them closed on a slow day gives everyone a chance to decompress. It also saves the owner the cost of hiring more employees to pay for more opening hours.

There are many employees in chain restaurants, so don't worry about this kind of thing. They are usually open seven days a week. These enterprises usually rely on shareholders who want to maximize profitability. Small business owners usually don't have this kind of worry.

the restaurant closing at the beginning of this week may bring some unintentional benefits to customers. Many restaurants may not receive fresh food on weekends, which means that the food served on Monday may be made of ingredients carried over from last Friday. The late chef Anthony Bourdain once begged people not to order fish on Monday, because it is more likely to be left over from the previous week, but he later withdrew, saying that the restaurant business has developed since the proposal was first made in 1999.

However, even if your favorite place is open, there are other reasons to skip Monday. Some restaurants may use the slowest day of the week to attract new managers, waiters or chefs. When the occupied tables are few and far apart, customers may not always get the best service in the restaurant.

finally, owning a respected and admired restaurant will give the owners some leeway. Admittedly, customers may be annoyed to find a locked door on Monday. But if the food is good, they may come back on Tuesday.