but gets complicated fast.
On one side, it’s not hard to understand the goal. Restaurants want people to feel comfortable, and strong odors—whether it’s smoke, heavy sweat, or anything else—can affect other customers’ experience, especially in a closed space late at night.
But the issue is exactly what you pointed out: “strong odor” isn’t a clear, measurable thing. It’s subjective. What one employee thinks is too much, another might not even notice. That opens the door for inconsistency, awkward confrontations, and even unfair targeting—whether intentional or not.
And late-night IHOP has always had that anything-goes vibe—people coming from work shifts, long drives, nights out. It’s part of the culture. Turning that into a kind of judgment call at the door changes the whole feel from “come as you are” to “pass the check first.”
In practice, it might improve things in extreme cases, but it also risks putting staff in uncomfortable positions and customers in embarrassing situations. Instead of solving a problem cleanly, it kind of shifts it into a gray area where people have to make snap calls about other people.
So yeah—it could make the space more comfortable in theory, but realistically it’s probably going to create just as many awkward moments as it prevents.
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