Should I be closing my restaurant early?

Question

I run a deli right across from the University of Tennessee. Our normal business hours are 1030am to 10pm. When the college kids go home (ie for Christmas break) our business is slow. Last week we stayed open until 8 and got killed on labor costs. This week, I am shutting it down after our lunch rush so we can actually profit instead of lose it all on labor, yet I am still nervous as to what my owner will say. I am the General Manager and feel that this is my call, especially if he is out of town celebrating Christmas, while we work on a skeleton crew. Any words of wisdom?

Answer 1

Good move dude. See if you can come up with any numbers on like how much you lost when you stayed opn so late.