Please Don't Hang Your Coat on the Back of Your Chair in a Restaurant — Here's Why

It’s that time of year when so many of us layer up with clothing to keep the winter chill from encroaching. Sweaters, coats, gloves, scarves, hats and a partridge in a pear tree are all part of the season. When we step into a restaurant swaddled up in slabs of winter wear, the warm restaurant air envelops us like a woolen mitten and we soon feel like we’re in a sauna — and in need of a stripping down. Off come the winter accessories, quickly followed by the decision of what to do with these items. Where do they go? 

Use the coat check

If the restaurant offers a coat check, by all means take advantage of it. Stuff your gloves and hat  into the pockets and shove the scarf into the arms and let it all roost comfortably and safely on a hanger as you enjoy your meal. It’ll only cost you a couple of dollars for a tip and you won’t have to think about it for the next 90 minutes. If you are someone who wants to hang their coat on the back of their chair, let me tell you why that’s not the best idea. 

The back of the chair is not an option

Coats take up room and space is a valuable commodity in a restaurant. For every coat that’s on a chair, there’s less room for others to walk past you and by others, I mean restaurant staff. In a small restaurant where everyone has their coat hanging on a chair, it’s like trudging through a forest of puffer jackets and we need a machete to get through it all. Since slashing the coats of customers is typically frowned upon, we wade through and hope we don’t trip over a scarf that has fallen to the floor. 

Or sit on it

If you happen to own a coat that goes past your knees, you can be sure that hanging it on the chair will make a good portion of it rest on the floor, certain to be stepped on by a variety of non-slip footwear. We don’t want to step on it, but sometimes we have no choice. If there’s no place to check your coat, store it by taking as little space as possible even if it means sitting on it. 

Seats are for butts, not bags

You may also be burdened with additional bags since holiday shopping goes hand in hand with going out to dinner. Some people have the luxury of leaving such things in their car, but for those in cities that rely on public transportation, that means the bags go into the restaurant. The New York City MTA has a slogan: "Seats are for butts, not bags." The same can be said for restaurant chairs. A few bags from Macy’s is equivalent to another person as far as space needed, but that doesn’t mean you can always use an empty chair for the shopping booty to rest upon. 

If there’s an unused chair at your table, it’s like you won the lottery, because it can house your coats and bags. If you see an empty table with four equally empty chairs, that is not an invitation for your belongings to take a seat. Those chairs and that table are for other people. Placing it there until someone needs it puts the onus on someone else to ask you to move your things, so just don’t do it. Place your shopping bags under the table and deal with it. This isn’t an airline and you don’t get pay for extra legroom.

Get hooked up

Restaurants understand that customers have no choice but to come in with extra gear at this time of year. They would love to provide a coat rack or a closet, but sometimes it’s just not possible. They’re doing their best. There may be some random hooks placed about the restaurant for you to use and if that’s the case, utilize them. Otherwise, your coat might drag on the floor, a server could trip on it, spilling a tray of drinks onto it and your shopping bags and then the entirety of your holidays are as disappointing as a glass of mulled wine with not enough cinnamon and too much clove.