When you go to a restaurant, do you usually finish all your food? If not, then you might ask for a go-to box, and restaurants usually oblige. You paid for it, so you should get to keep it, right? A Washington server says she’s often asked in her line of work if customers are permitted to take food home. Now she wonders if it’s a common practice for restaurants to prevent you from taking leftovers, and if so, why.
TikToker user House Cat Chronicles shared her experience as a server on social media. She noticed some guests would ask her if they were allowed to take their leftovers home with them. She said they would ask her specifically, “Are we allowed to take this home?” as if they might be stopped if they tried. It happened often enough for her to question why. She was unaware that some restaurants discouraged patrons from taking food home.
The TikToker asked the other servers at her job if they’ve been asked these same question.. They said they did. One of the workers told her some restaurants prohibit people from taking their leftovers along. Apparently, there are quite a few reasons.
One of the most obvious things is that it’s a buffet restaurant, and you pay for whatever you eat there. However, for other restaurants, it may be an issue of safety. “I’ve been to two mom and pop shop sorts of places that refused to let me take food home. When I asked at the second place, the woman didn’t speak English well, but said, ‘If you take it home you’ll get sick and die and we can’t have that,’” one commenter shared.
“My wife and I went to Paula Dean’s restaurant for the first time while on vacation in TN. They have a no box rule there. Only time I’ve ever experienced that,” another shared. This is allegedly because her kitchen is an all-you-can-eat type of restaurant with unlimited refills on certain items.
It could also be a cultural thing, even for financial reasons. Perhaps allowing you to fill a box puts a strain on a restaurant’s margins. Regardless, most restaurants don’t have a problem giving you a go-to box, and should. You paid for the meal, so you should be allowed to finish it later!
