Have You Ever Wondered Why Some Chinese Restaurants are Closed on Tuesday?
If you’ve ever craved Chinese food on ‘takeout Tuesday’, here’s why your favorite go-to spot might be closed.
Thanks to TikTok user @2_kimchi.x3 whose family own several Chinese takeaways in Glasgow, Scotland, explained why some Chinese restaurants shut down for the day in a recent viral post which has been viewed more than 20,000 times and counting.
Noting that the tradition started a long time ago, Chinese takeaways shut off the lights and lock doors to catch up with family, friends, and to simply rest; although she also explained that there is no concrete reason why Tuesday is the designated day for resting and catching up with loved ones.
“So Chinese takeaways are known to be closed on a Tuesday because back a long time ago, for some reason, a lot of Chinese people who knew each other arranged to meet up on Tuesdays as a day off, and that’s what they would do to catch up and make plans,” Kim mentioned in her video.
Kim Chi
And for the takeaway restaurants that choose to close down on Mondays or Wednesdays, Kim further explained,
“That’s because of the people running the takeaways. Because we have got a lot more people emigrating from China over to the U.K. they maybe don’t really have the same plans as Hong Kong Chinese.”
Kim Chi
“That’s what my dad explained to me,” she added. “I had to ask him to make sure why they close on a Tuesday. But it’s like, because every other day is a busy day for them when they work in the takeaway, Tuesday’s like the day they can take off to spend with their family or friends and make plans.”
Kim Chi
Some even believe that several Chinese restaurants choose to close on the first day of the working week due to the fact that Monday is considered to be one of the slowest days of the week.
Others have also argued that their local Chinese restaurants aren’t able to receive fresh produce deliveries on Sunday, which is why they close the following day.
Considering now we know why some Chinese restaurants close in the beginning of the week, maybe it’s time we switch ‘takeout Tuesday’ to ‘favorites Friday’!
