The other day, a tweet from a user I don’t follow (no shade) washed up in my stream. “Is it rude to show up 30 minutes before a restaurant closes with a group of 14 people?” they asked.

That’s an excellent question because, depending on the context, it has so many answers.

It’s definitely okay if the group rolls into a fast food restaurant or a fast casual concept, because it’s very likely that by the time they’ve eaten, the staff will still be finishing up their closing duties, like paperwork or breaking down the kitchen.

If that same group descends on a local brunch spot that closes for the day at 2 pm? It could be considered rude, but I’d bet there’s a server on staff who’d be down with sticking around to serve them and taking home some extra pocket change. (There always is.) Plus, 2 pm is not 10 pm. Even if that server’s gonna lose an hour of their afternoon, it’s not like it’ll be dark by the time they get home.

Where it gets tricky is when the dinner shifts at sit-down restaurants are drawing to a close.

Now I know there are people out there who will say, “If a restaurant states that it’s open until 10 pm, it should seat people who want to eat up until 10 pm.” Most restaurant owners would agree with that sentiment—most servers, too. In fact, if a table of four rolls in three minutes before closing, I don’t think anyone would really care, even the server who has to stick around for an extra 45 minutes or so to wait on that late table. But 14 people rolling into a restaurant to eat dinner or late-night snacks at 9:30 pm? Let me explain why that is rude AF.

Fourteen people is a lot, and I can say with 100 percent certainty that they were out doing a group thing before they stumbled into this hypothetical restaurant, so showing up right before closing is a whim—otherwise someone in the party would’ve called to make a reservation. I can also say with 100 percent certainty that at least three or four of those 14 people are intoxicated, and the chance that all of them are ain’t slim, either. And there’s nothing more fun than explaining to 14 intoxicated people that they’ll all be paying an auto-gratuity, and that you hope some of them brought cash because the check will be split no more than four ways.

Once that table settles in, it’s going to take a good 30 minutes for them to order drinks and decide what they want to eat and for the server to punch in the order. By this time, the restaurant has officially closed and the kitchen hasn’t even started cooking that last big order. By the time the table settles up, the server has now put in an extra 90 minutes of work.

And serving big groups like this (in this exact hypothetical) doesn’t just affect servers, but support staff, too—like bussers, expos, bartenders, and dishwashers who will be forced to stick around for who knows how long to wash 14 people’s worth of dishes, glasses, and cutlery.

Will restaurants seat those 14 people? Of course they will. And they should. But it’s still rude, because now many of its workers don’t know when they’re going home—or, let’s face it, to a nearby bar for a well-earned drink—because they don’t know how long it’s going to take the 14-top to finish their dinner, nor how long they’re going to linger when they’re paying the check.

Here’s a general rule I think people should follow when dining out with a large group of people minutes before a restaurant closes. If that party can’t order a second drink with their dinner because the bartender’s gonna announce “last call” when they are midway through their first, it might be a good idea to try another option.

So yes, it’s rude AF to “show up 30 minutes before a restaurant closes with a group of 14 people.” In fact, the author of that tweet seemed to agree. If people want to dine out with a large group of people, make a reservation so the staff can plan for it. Or better yet, in a city where a bar’s kitchen can rival other restaurant kitchens, take your large party down the road to the nearest bar. It’s an elegant solution, really.

(Don’t @ me, restaurateurs.)