Chicago is eating and drinking earlier

About 26% of bar and restaurant transactions across Chicago using Square have occurred between 7pm and 4am so far in 2023, per data from the point-of-sale company.

• That's two percentage points down from last year, and three percentage points from 2019 — before the pandemic.

Driving the news: This comes at a time when the city has beefed up outdoor dining permanently.

The big picture: There are some signs that we're becoming a "nation of early birds," as the Wall Street Journal recently put it, in part because the pandemic shifted how we spend our time.

• One contributing factor: "Hybrid and remote workers itching to leave the house as soon as they close their laptops," per WSJ.

Yes, but: Other indicators suggest the late-night scene is alive and well across America — which jibes with the overall post-pandemic sense that people are still burning off pent-up demand for social time.

Of note: The data only reflects transactions made on the Square platform.

• Still, its use is widespread enough to suggest some broad trends.