Wouldn't it have made more sense to just close the restaurant?

i guess they just want to still continue with their business without interrupting their income even though theres something wrong inside. so i guess if you think that your not comfortable with the place then better just to find another restaurant instead. business is actually business and we really cant blame them if they still want to earn something. if its my business i will also going to do that as long as theres income coming.

In Ontario there is no smoking in any retail establishment, including restaurants. I think the management was probably thinking he was helping his customers by remaining open, he probably still had to pay the staff so decided to remain open in case some people wanted to come in. I think the only problem is the area was too small. It would be a hard call for me if I was in that situation, but would probably close for the day, and put a big sign up on the front door, and make sure the plumbers worked overtime to finish the problem as soon as possible.

I don't know what I would do. I can see both sides of the issue. The owner/manager has employees that need to work, he still has overhead costs (Now including a pipe repair/water damage cleanup) Many people, when they find the restaurant closed would never come back. Although that is not true for me, I know people who would say. "If they don't want to stay open for me, I don't want to give them my money". A lot of places like that have "regulars" who eat there every day or once a week, that expect it to be open. I love the fact that here where we live, restaurants are now all non-smoking.

I can see keeping it open, apologizing profusely and letting people know how long the wait is if they choose to eat in the smoking section. Maybe even give out coupons for the next visit or something. That way at least it isn't a total loss for the restaurant.

Well, business is business. If a customer takes them up on their offer it's still a sale.

Some people would keep the place open to try to make even a little money, probably to sort out the costs of repairing the pipe, however its probably nicer for the customers if they didnt open.

i think its better to close down... because at the end of the day it is the reputation of the restaurant that is going down. also the customers are suffering badly... if they do not have people walking in.. they might have a better concentration towards the work and personally i feel its not such a good idea to have a restaurant open.. in that sort of a state

I assume the restaurant did not want to lose income while they made their repairs. I can't imagine the cost involved in closing a restaurant for a few days.. all the food they have in storage would go bad unless it's frozen or non-perishable. The managers still need to be paid because they're most likely on a salary. Not to mention the cost of the repairs, and it's not like they can turn the electric off... so they have a lot of cost no matter if they're open or closed. In their eyes it's best to have some income rather than none.

lol. Yeah. I would think the same but i'm a smoker so i'd still eat there if ever.

It may be better to shut down for a couple days to save face, but if they try to stay open and accomodate people as best they can it keeps them from losing a lot more money. Guess it depends on a few things, like how bad the damage is, owners business sense, fiscal fitness at the time...basically boils down to a judgement call on the managers/owners.