There’s a specific moment that can turn an evening sour before it even begins. Picture this: You’ve booked a reservation at that hot spot you read about weeks ago. You dressed up, you’re about to drop $500 on a night out with your date, and the first thing out of the hostess’s mouth, before hello or welcome, is that you have two hours at the table.
That’s not a greeting. That, my friends, is a deadline.
Listen, I understand why restaurants do it. Reservations stack up, tables have to turn, and one party camping out over two empty espresso ‘tinis can wreck an entire night of seatings — and revenue. I get it, and I respect the financial reasons restaurants do it, especially during a busy service.
But in this world of optimizing every freaking thing, from payroll to reservations, we forget that the undercurrent of all of this is hospitality. That is the entire point of the restaurant industry: hospitality.
...We forget that the undercurrent of all of th…
