Clopen

A clopen is when an employee closes the restaurant at night and returns the next morning to open, often with as little as 4-8 hours between shifts. This portmanteau of “close” and “open” has become infamous in the restaurant industry for creating grueling schedules where staff might finish cleanup at midnight and return by 6 AM for prep and opening duties.

How Clopening Affects Restaurant Operations

Clopening shifts are particularly common in restaurants, cafes, and fast-food establishments operating extended hours. Late-night cleaning, restocking, cash reconciliation, and securing the premises at closing transitions directly into early morning food prep, equipment startup, and opening setup just hours later.

Restaurants rely on clopens because only a handful of trusted employees typically have the authority and experience to handle both critical functions. High turnover in food service means managers often have limited options for staffing these essential shifts. Rather than training multiple people on opening and closing procedures, operators assign both to their most reliable prep cooks and shift leads.

This scheduling practice creates a vicious cycle. Sleep-deprived employees are more likely to get in the weeds during busy service, make mistakes with food prep, and eventually burn out. Studies show clopens lead to poor employee engagement, higher stress levels, and lower morale—particularly for workers with families who can’t manage childcare with such erratic schedules.

Legal Restrictions on Clopening

While clopening remains federally legal, multiple jurisdictions have enacted “fair workweek” or “right to rest” laws specifically targeting this practice. These regulations typically mandate a minimum 10-11 hour rest period between shifts.

New York City’s Fair Workweek Law prohibits fast food employers from scheduling back-to-back closing and opening shifts with less than 11 hours between them unless employees provide written consent—and even then, the employer must pay a $100 premium. Chicago requires 1.25 times the regular hourly rate for employees who consent to work clopens. Similar protections exist in Seattle, Oregon, and other cities.

These laws aim to protect workers’ health and wellbeing while still allowing flexibility for businesses that need coverage. Violations can result in fines, back pay requirements, and legal action from employees.

Alternatives to Clopening Shifts

Forward-thinking operators have moved away from clopens by establishing separate opening and closing teams. This requires training more staff on both procedures but distributes knowledge across the team and reduces dependency on individual employees.

Scheduling software with built-in clopen alerts helps managers identify problematic shifts before publishing schedules. These systems often integrate with POS systems to optimize labor based on actual sales patterns, reducing the perceived need for skeleton crews.

Starbucks publicly eliminated clopening in 2014 after employee complaints about unsustainable schedules. The company found that providing predictable schedules with adequate rest periods actually improved retention and service quality—offsetting any perceived increase in labor cost percentage.

High-volume operations using turn and burn service models should particularly avoid clopens, as exhausted staff can’t maintain the speed and accuracy these concepts demand. Building depth on your team costs more upfront but pays dividends in consistency and employee loyalty.