--- title: Should my restaurant close on Mondays? | NFCeez url: https://nfceez.de/en/blog/should-my-restaurant-close-on-mondays/ language: en description: Should your restaurant close on Mondays? Often yes, if the day leaves almost nothing. The sums with Germany's minimum wage and what to test first. --- # Should my restaurant close on Mondays? Work through one day's numbers rather than just looking at the till. A quiet Monday can still pay off, and a day off is worth something too. [Marketing and running](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/topic/marketing/) 2 min read Updated 2 November 2026 NFCeez editorial team The short answer A restaurant should close on Mondays if the day leaves almost nothing after ingredients and staff and the team badly needs the day off. Leave rent out of the sum, because it's due either way. In a made-up example, 103 euros remain. Before closing completely, test shorter hours or a reason to visit for eight weeks. ## How do you work out one day's numbers? Count only what opening actually causes. You pay rent, insurance and leases on a closed day too, so they stay out of this sum. Here's a made-up example, Restaurant Laterne on a Monday, with two people on eight hours each at Germany's minimum wage. Item 2026 2027 Net sales 600 euros 600 euros Ingredients, 30 percent 180 euros 180 euros Wages, 16 hours 222 euros 234 euros Employer costs, a flat 20 percent in this example 45 euros 47 euros Power, water, cleaning, in this example 50 euros 50 euros Left over 103 euros 89 euros Under Germany's [minimum wage ordinance](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milov5/BJNR10C0A0025.html), the rate is 13.90 euros since January 2026 and 14.60 euros from January 2027. Put in your real numbers, for your own country. If you as the owner work the floor, your time doesn't show up in this sum, and that's often what makes it misleading. ## What speaks for staying open? Regulars and habit. People who always come on Mondays may find somewhere else, and that costs you on Tuesdays too. Being open when your neighbours are shut can also be an advantage. Neither shows in a one-day sum, so simply ask your Monday guests. What speaks against it is the person behind the counter. 103 euros for a full day without a break isn't much if nobody has had a day off for weeks. A rested team on Friday can be worth more than a weak Monday. ## What should you test before closing? - Open for less time. Only evenings or only lunch often saves most of the wages. - Create a reason to come, such as a fixed dish for that day. More ideas are in [how to fill quiet days](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/how-to-fill-quiet-days/). - Give regulars a nudge, such as double stamps on that day only. Give each attempt eight weeks and compare with the same weeks before. A single Monday tells you nothing, because weather and public holidays distort it too much. ## How do you test a Monday nudge without counting everything by hand? With NFCeez you do it with a Boost on the stamp card. In the app you choose double stamps and pick Monday as the day. Guests keep the card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, your team scans as usual, and on Mondays every visit counts twice. The app also suggests a Boost from your own numbers and shows you afterwards what it brought. The limit: it only counts guests with a card, not everyone who comes on a Monday, and the app doesn't know your sales. The [digital stamp card](https://nfceez.de/en/features/digital-stamp-card/) page shows how Boosts look. ## What changes if you close? All visible hours, on the same day: on Google, on the door, on Instagram and on your own page. Nothing annoys people more than a locked door. How to do it on Google is in our article on your [Google Business Profile](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/google-business-profile-for-restaurants/). Your next step: put the numbers from your last eight Mondays into the table. [ How NFCeez does this A reason to come on your quietest day. With a Boost, every visit counts twice on the day you choose. The app shows afterwards what it brought, and your regulars collect in their Wallet. See how it works ](https://nfceez.de/en/features/digital-stamp-card/) Sources - [Fünfte Mindestlohnanpassungsverordnung, § 1](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milov5/BJNR10C0A0025.html) ## Questions about a closed day Your weakest, and your till tells you that, not an industry tip. For some it's Tuesday or Sunday evening. A few perhaps, but most come another day. Announce it in time so nobody ends up at a locked door. No. You pay it open or closed. Only costs caused by opening belong there. At least eight weeks. Over a shorter time the numbers say little, because weather and holidays swing too much. ## Keep reading. [All articles](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/) [ ### Few guests on weekdays: which ideas really help on quiet days? Twelve ideas with what each one needs and the risk, plus a worked example and a test sheet so you don't fool yourself. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/how-to-fill-quiet-days/) [ ### Restaurant and café marketing on no budget: what comes first, and what comes next? Six things that only cost time, in the right order, with wording you can copy and a plan for your first six weeks. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/restaurant-marketing-on-no-budget/) [ ### What is a regular worth, and how do you work it out without a till system? You can estimate it with tally marks, daily takings and supplier invoices. The important part is counting only what a regular really adds. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/what-is-a-regular-worth/)