At the time it was so that they could sanitize everything in compliance with what the CDC was telling them. In 2020 and into 2021 they actually had a pile of people in the store cleaning every surface overnight. Then, like magic, they stopped.

Now it’s because they can employ fewer people. We’re still beholden to places like that because we have to buy groceries. If they could get everyone in the city in and out in an hour they’d happily do it no matter what we thought. But competition being open later forces them to be open longer.