Thanksgiving’s eve is one of the busiest nights for bars. The night before Thanksgiving is touted as the biggest bar night of the year. Everyone’s back home gearing up for Turkey Day and excited to reunite with hometown friends. Plus, unlike New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day, when many people throw parties at home, Thanksgiving Eve is a chance to escape the confines of a house full of kooky relatives and just go out.
Oh, and the bars love it, too.
“We are 200-percent busier on the day before Thanksgiving compared to an average Wednesday,” says Russ Gretkierewicz, manager of the Inn Place in Royal Oak. “We do the business of a busy Saturday night, but it’s spread out over the entire day.”
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Jeremy Haberman, co-owner of the Magic Bag theater and the Bosco lounge, both in Ferndale, agrees.
“The night before T-day is always better than a regular Wednesday,” he says. “And the longer we’re in business — 12 years for the Bag and seven years for the Bosco — the more friends we see reuniting at the bars. Also, the fact that so many people have left town should correlate into even more mini-reunions.”
The night is most popular with those younger than 30, who can still recall their high school days but haven’t yet hit the big 10-year reunion.
“I make it a point to go out on Thanksgiving Eve,” says Dana Monforton, who graduated from Bloomfield Hills Lahser in 2000 and now lives in Cincinnati. “I figure I’ll at least come home with a good story to tell. And it’s tradition.”
But, she says, it can be a hassle going out when everyone else is.
“Honestly, it’s a little overwhelming. It takes forever to get a drink, all of my favorite places are packed, and since there are a ton of people out, you run the risk of running into the exact people you were hoping to avoid. … On the other hand, there’s a sense of fun and festivity on that night that only happens during the holidays. People are glad to be back on home soil, and everyone has the singular goal of just having fun. And they know the next day, there’s no work or school to worry about.”
Although Monforton tends to hit the Ferndale bars on Thanksgiving Eve, many of her old high school classmates meet up at what may be the closest watering hole to their alma mater.
“We call it ‘the Lahser kid night,’ ” says Lisa O’Shea, general manager of the Moose Preserve bar and restaurant in Bloomfield Hills. “It’s a Lahser reunion for all ages, and it’s wall-to-wall crowded. People are in from out of town. It’s a great, lively atmosphere.”
Inn Place manager Gretkierewicz says the night is one of his favorite of the year.
“It kicks off the holiday season,” he says, “and my place is full of people — regulars and newcomers — who are visiting with friends and having a good time. Customers who show up on that day are either preparing for the meal they are about to make, excited about a break from school or dreading dealing with the chaos of family. People are not on a mission to get drunk, but rather are looking for a good time and to hang out with friends and take a break.”
This was very surprising to me when I found such things said….. who knew!
Source: Liz Hill Metro Detroit freelance writer.
www.detnews.com
