Across the country, many restaurants and bars are revving up for crowds through the holiday weekend.
Christopher Liscio is the general manger at Chicago Sam’s in Cromwell and believes it’s best to start planning ahead of the crowds.
“We like to have extra staff and we have a lot of security guards who make sure it’s a safe and fun environment for everyone,” said Liscio. “A lot of family and friends are looking to eat some good food and have some drinks.”
According to Liscio, the large crowds mean a lot of business for Chicago Sam’s.
“It’s when you make all your money from now until Christmas,” said Liscio. “It’s very busy and we’re wall to wall due to everyone from surrounding towns coming here.”
In Wallingford, there’s a rush to make sure everything is set before thirsty and hungry patrons come through the doors.
Tood Tremalgio took over his Uncle’s bar ‘Lenny’s Café’. It’s been a go-to for families and friends returning to Connecticut for nearly 40 years.
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“It’ll be wall to wall with people and we try to pour drinks as fast as we can,” said Tremalgio. “We’ll have two bartenders tonight, and extra staff at the door.”
Knuckleheads is another fan favorite, known for their signature hot dogs, hamburgers and special drinks.
Anthony Morgillo is a manager at Knckleheads and expects that lots of people will be heading to the bar to relax and unwind.
“Normally people come out before the holiday and you know have a couple of drinks,” said Morgiollo. “Statistically, it’s the biggest bar night in the country.”
It’s a sweep escape for countless Nutmegger’s as they get away from all the food preparations and catch up with old friends and relatives.
John Biron is using Thanksgiving Eve to catch up with his long time friend Real Blais.
“It feels great, this is one of my long-time buddies,” said Blais. “He used to be my boss back in the day so, it’s all good.”
Biron wants to focus on counting his blessings this year.
“This year, I want to sit back a little bit and reflect on everything that we have,” said Biron “We are thankful and we’re always thinking about how blessed we are.”
Liscio warned customers to practice safe driving and asking that everyone drink responsibly.
“You always want people to have a designated drivers or someone who’s sober during this time of year,” said Liscio. “The last couple of years, we’ve been glad to see a lot of Uber and Lyfts coming to the bar and picking people up, we just hope that people continue the trend this year and every year.”
Thanksgiving Eve has another meaning – according to the Highway Traffic Safety, it is one of the deadliest day of the year because of drunk drivers.
State police said they will be out in full force throughout the holiday weekend.
