Early Bird Special!

The "early bird special" used to evoke images of senior citizens eating smaller dinner portions at 4:30 pm before the crazy dinner rush.  However, in recent years, the early bird dinner time has become more popular.  Many restaurants now offer "early bird," "happy hour,' or "sunset dinner" specials.

New York restaurateur Danny Meyer recently tweeted, "When did a 6:00 dinner reservation become the new 8:00, most prized table of the night - and will it last?"  His observations have been backed up by data as well.  According to Yelp data, the number of diners making reservations between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm is almost double what it was for the same time period in 2019, before the pandemic.

Are there benefits to eating an earlier dinner?  Helen Veit, a food historian at Michigan State University, cited studies that have shown that eating dinner earlier is better for you - with results such as limiting weight gain and lowering spikes in high blood sugar levels.  A study published by Cell Metabolism found that people who eat their meals within a 10-hour window (part of intermittent fasting) and finish dinner earlier in the day are less hungry, burn calories faster, and have a lower risk for obesity.  As the population has generally become more health-conscious, people are now including sleep health as part of a good lifestyle.  Eating an earlier dinner usually means an earlier bedtime as well.  One restaurant diner said that since eating on an earlier schedule, she can sleep better and has actually lost some weight.

Seth Gerber, who co-owns a restaurant group in Boston, is happy for more early birds dining in his restaurants.  It is very helpful for his staff, many of whom rely on public transportation.  He said, "They're able to wrap up their nights and make it home at a more reasonable hour."

The restaurant can use these specials to increase revenue and profitability by offering lower-cost meals to attract price-sensitive customers, such as middle-class families and retired people, at a time when the restaurant would otherwise be empty.  One restaurant manager said that he is happy to see more customers eating earlier because it allows restaurants to turn their tables three times in an evening instead of twice, leading to more sales and tips.

The increase in early bird diners is not just happening on the weekends;  some managers have noticed an increase of diners on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  These afternoons / evenings used to be not very busy, but now they can be just as busy as weekend nights.  One possible reason for this uptick in weekday dining is that once workers returned to the office after the pandemic, they wanted to go out and socialize after work.  The Robb Report noticed this change as well and attributed it to more hybrid employees.  With an estimated 34% of the population working in a hybrid position, they are more easily able to go out for an early dinner during the week.

Some chefs are excited for early bird dinner menus.  While many of these menus are smaller than the full dinner menu, and some are even set meals, some restaurants offer unique early bird specials with dishes not available during regular dinner hours.

Early dinners and bedtime affect businesses other than just restaurants.  For example, Uber trips to restaurants during the 4:00 pm hour are up 10% since 2019, the company told the Wall Street Journal, while rides after 8:00 pm are down 9%.  New York City's theater industry is also falling in line, with more and more shows starting at 7:00 pm instead of 8:00 pm.  In a similar fashion, several movie theaters have canceled their latest movie screenings in favor of an additional matinee showing.

Overall, early bird dinner times offer a good combination of economic, convenience, and lifestyle benefits that make it popular across many demographics.