Restaurants staying open later, some 24 hours
The first thing Matthew Weigl does when he leaves the bar with his friends is go look for a place to eat.
Many restaurants in Mount Pleasant stay open late, even 24 hours, to satisfy the late-night hunger of Weigl and other customers.
“When you’re coming from the bar at 2 a.m., you’re looking for something to eat,” the Saginaw junior said. “Everyone has the munchies at 2 a.m.”
Arby's, 1224 S. Mission St, is open until 3 a.m., extending their hours a few years ago to meet demands. Shift Manager Raymond Resetz said the restaurant's peak hours are around lunchtime and later at night.
Resetz said Arby's has thought about leaving the business open 24 hours, but managers believe it wouldn’t be worth it.
"We’ve talked about it, but nothing has been done," he said. "We just wouldn’t get the business after 3 a.m."
And with business doing well, Resetz said Arby's finds no threat from other local restaurants staying open 24 hours.
Lil' Chef, 1720 S. Mission St., opened in 1993 and has been open 24 hours for as long as server Lauren Bottoff can remember, who said the peak hours for the business are weekend mornings.
“We get most of our business from the church-goers on Sunday mornings, but we do get a lot of business once the bars close,” the Ann Arbor senior said. “Lil’ Chef has been open a long time, so we’re doing something right."
Menna’s Joint, 1418 S. Mission St., is open Sunday through Wednesday until 3 a.m. and Thursday through Saturday until 4 a.m.
Crew member Jenna Hogle said the restaurant has no desire to extend their hours and stay open 24 hours, because the business after 4 a.m. wouldn’t be worth it.
The restaurant stays busy throughout the day with peak hour of 2:30 a.m.
“We get a lot of the bar crowd ,” Hogle said. “A lot of people come strolling in once O’Kelly’s closes. We’ve had to call cabs for people who fall asleep in the booths.”
