Discussion on answer by jcaron: Why can't you order just drinks on a French restaurant's terrace?

as jcaron says "they could perfectly well stop accepting customers at 13:30" ... I am presently living in the US; the local "trendy" coffee shop stops taking orders about ~45 mins before the actual "door locking" time. If we endlessly asked why, why, why, why, what is the cultural reason for this, why do they not want money, why, why, why the only answer would be "that's what the owner happens to like doing". the actual owner, herself, probably couldn't absolutely, definitely answer such a why why why question.

the Dunkin Donuts on the corner here stops taking most new orders a full hour before they officially close at I think 8pm. If you roll up at 7pm, most items they will say "oh sorry we've stopped (the brew machine / whatever)" If you happen to want a bagel or whatever and there's one left over, they'll give you one. It's really non-mysterious.

@cjs i appreciate your point but you can't "explain" cultural differences. what could the explanation possibly be? i mean "why do Americans eat so much fast food" - who knows, the answer would be some sort of historical analysis? "It seems to me that the restaurants should do X" but this is exactly precisely the tone of the question and comments, repeatedly: "I'm used to any food and/or drinks serving place, having a terrace with empty seats, happily serving you a drink in exchange for your money." How can you "explain" cultural differences?!!