TikTok user explains why some Chinese restaurants are closed on Tuesdays

A TikTok user has recently amassed thousands of views for explaining why some Chinese takeaway restaurants are closed on Tuesdays.

Kim Chi, whose family owns several takeaway restaurants in Glasgow, Scotland, responded to a TikTok follower’s question about why some Chinese takeaway restaurants are closed on Tuesdays.

In her video, which has been viewed more than 19,400 times since being posted on Monday, Kim explained that the tradition started a long time ago, and there is no concrete reason that explains why Tuesdays became a designated day for resting and catching up with family and friends.

“So Chinese takeaways are known to be closed on a Tuesday because back a long time ago, for some reason, a lot of Chinese people who knew each other arranged to meet up on Tuesdays as a day off, and that’s what they would do to catch up and make plans,” Kim said.

The TikTok user’s grandparents reportedly owned and operated Rainbow Chinese and Happy Valley, two Chinese takeaway restaurants in Glasgow. Her parents also opened their own restaurant, The Wok King, before moving to the city’s southside to open a restaurant called The Wok Star.

Kim further explained that some takeaway restaurants have chosen to close shop on Mondays or Wednesdays instead: “That’s because of the people running the takeaways. Because we have got a lot more people emigrating from China over to the U.K. they maybe don’t really have the same plans as Hong Kong Chinese.”

“That’s what my dad explained to me,” she added. “I had to ask him to make sure why they close on a Tuesday. But it’s like, because every other day is a busy day for them when they work in the takeaway, Tuesday’s like the day they can take off to spend with their family or friends and make plans.”

In the U.S., some Chinese restaurants opt to close on Mondays. While there is no definitive reason as to why their owners chose the first day of the working week, some believe it has something to do with profits since Mondays are considered one of the slowest days of the week.

Others argue that local Chinese restaurants are not able to receive fresh produce deliveries on Sundays, which is why it makes sense to close shop on Mondays.

Anonymous users from websites such as Answerbag have also tried providing their own explanations, with one user stating that there is a superstitious belief behind closing on Tuesdays.

The user, who claims to be of Chinese descent, explained: “It’s because we Chinese people are very superstitious and according to this legend, dragons come to our restaurant to eat on Tuesdays!”

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