Late-night fast food and 24-hour eateries, once the staple of American convenience, have shrunk dramatically in recent years, but some chains are starting to expand their late-night hours again.
Nationwide, fewer chain stores remain open overnight, a change that began during the coronavirus pandemic and has never fully reversed.
Restaurant sales fell 47% in April 2020 from a year earlier, forcing operators to shorten hours and cut costs, according to USDA data cited by Tasting Table.
Years later, much of the abbreviated schedule remains in place.
According to Yelp data, between 2020 and 2024, the number of restaurants offering 24-hour service decreased by 18%.
“The underlying consumer demand is not what it was before the pandemic,” David Henkes, senior principal and head of strategic partnerships at Chicago-based food service consulting firm Technomic, told FOX News Digital.
“I’ve been saying this for a couple of years now, and I wish I could stop, but it’s never been more difficult to run a restaurant profitably than it is today,” Henkes said.
Rising food costs, inflation and thin profit margins have made it difficult to justify late night service, while maintaining night shift staffing remains a challenge.
Safety concerns and local regulations also play a role, with some cities restricting late-night operations. According to local reports, Philadelphia’s measure requires certain businesses to close by 11 p.m.
The cost of eating out, or “food away from home,” has increased nearly 30% in U.S. cities since 2020, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Henkes also said costs are rising across the board for everyone, and for restaurants that means higher prices for things like labor, food, rent, insurance and energy.
“When wages were low, it was cheaper to keep a store or restaurant open with just staff than to go through the process of closing and reopening a store or restaurant,” Brian Gildenberg, managing director of New Jersey-based market research firm Retail Cities, told Fox News Digital.
“Today, wages are orders of magnitude higher than they were 10 years ago, and those economics no longer work,” he says.
Henkes said labor is always a challenge for food service operators.
“I looked at the research we did in 1970, and labor was the biggest issue back then,” he says. “That’s really the number one issue today. It’s discovery.” [the right people]. We are currently recruiting. It holds. Typically, you’re probably paying a premium for [those employees]And then there’s the staffing nightmare that comes with staying open all night. ”
Consumers are also feeling the pinch, spending less at restaurants. According to a 2025 YouGov survey, about 37% of Americans and 44% of low-income diners ate out less often than the previous year.
“Sixty-nine percent of them cited a perceived increase. [costs] as a reason for the decrease in the frequency of restaurant visits,” the report states.
Since COVID-19, people’s habits and priorities have also changed. Statistics consistently show that interest in health and wellness has increased since the pandemic.
The number of people who say they drink alcohol has also decreased dramatically.
“Young people are drinking less, and let’s be honest, most of the people looking for fast food at 2:30 a.m. are probably not sober,” Gildenberg said.
Still, restaurants aren’t dying, Henkes said, predicting limited-service chains will continue to outpace full-service and sit-down restaurants.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, there may be some hope for late-night dining, with foot traffic on the rise starting in 2023. Some chains are slowly expanding their hours again.
Wendy’s, for example, is pushing more stores to stay open late, with about 90% of its restaurants open until midnight or later, CEO Todd Penegor said on an earnings call.
McDonald’s announced last year that it would extend its hours and hire more than 300,000 workers, FOX Business reported.
Last year, Burger King expanded its late-night hours, according to a report from Restaurant Dive.
Taco Bell has announced its “Encore Hour” initiative, which will offer food to music lovers at select locations in 2025.
IHOP, Denny’s, and Waffle House are other restaurant chains with more reliable late-night hours.
Experts also note that demand for 24-hour eateries remains stronger in high-traffic areas near highways, airports and large cities than in small towns.
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