‘Absolutely not,’ says diners as they blast new 90 min time limit on tables and warn they will take different course

FRUSTRATED diners have slammed the move to enforce time limits in restaurants and have threatened to stop eating out.

Some restaurants across the U.S. have begun introducing 90-minute eating time limits in a bid to increase business .

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“For us, the goal is I want you to have a good time, but I need to turn that table,” Johnny Musovic, a restaurant owner told FOX 5 .

“If I’m not turning that table 2-3 times a night, I’m not making any money ,” he said.

Musovic supports the growing trend of imposing 90-minute dining limits on customers.

He is the owner of Sojourn Social, a restaurant in New York, and believes that this move will help bring in more revenue.

Musovic argues that customers tend to overstay their welcome when they’re ordering drinks to the table, and this is something he wants to change.

“They come in three, four, five hours,” Musovic said.

“They sit, they hang out all night long, and they just drink, little by little.”

But some diners are not so keen on this dining time limit.

“Absolutely not… last thing on my mind I should have is when I’m out dining and then I’m pressured out my seat,” Erik Parker Sr. commented on Facebook.

“Most foods don’t come out until 15 minutes after you order… so now I have to rush to eat my food?….. smh.”

“Think they’ll be losing business,” another user said.

“Time to limit my restaurant excursions,” a diner declared.

Some diners think eating time limits are fine, but only when restaurants are crowded.

“I mean, I’m OK with that. I mean the dining limit’s fine if it’s busy. If it’s not busy, then I think that’s odd,” they said.

Many diners, however, seemed to get behind the trend, acknowledging the move was a necessary step to bring in more business.

Dining time limits

These dining time limits seem to be becoming more and more popular in restaurants across the U.S. So why are they so controversial?

• Some diners believe that if they are paying to eat out, they should not be rushed away as soon as they have finished their meals.
• Others understand the need for a time limit and see it as a necessary move to increase restaurant business.
• Some see an hour and a half as a reasonable amount of time to eat.
• But some chains have introduced even more stringent time limits.

McDonald’s Sedona, Arizona

• One McDonald’s in Sedona put up a sign last month introducing a 30-minute dining time limit.
• Customers were quick to criticize the move and could not understand why such a short limit was needed.
• Some diners were so put off by the sign that they said they would refuse to eat there altogether.

“People need to move in a reasonable amount of time,” a Facebook user said.

“This is how restaurants and the employees make their money.”

“I think an hour and a half is long enough to eat and talk,” another diner said.

“The restaurant is losing business and waitresses are losing tips. If customers are staying longer.”

It seems people are sympathetic to this time limit and can understand the need for it.

“No one should be rushed but not sit there for three hours either,” another customer wrote.

One McDonald’s in Arizona went a step further with this time limit and recently declared customers only had 30 minutes to eat their food.

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