No ice cream on Good Friday

Yesterday night I had dinner with some lovely Mexican friends in town from D.F.
The concierge at the NY Hilton sent them to Bay Leaf, an Indian restaurant on 56th St.
The food was delicious and the service was welcoming, ("we love people from Mexico, we have Mexican here, Tamarind Fish muy picante") warm and fun.
At the end of the meal, we ordered ice cream (fig and walnut, to be exact)
More than a few minutes later, a waiter appears and announces that we can't have ice cream.
You are closing?
No, there is no ice cream. It's Good Friday.
Huh?
To clarify, he proceeds to spread his arms and hang his head in a pretty accurate imitation of Christ.
He says: Jesus Christ died. The van didn't come.