Thanksgiving Eve: How Do Restaurants and Bars Prepare?

Thanksgiving is one of the biggest holidays in the United States. But for restaurants and bars, Thanksgiving Eve is even bigger. 

Thanksgiving Eve has evolved into one of the busiest and most profitable shifts of the year, as Americans trade cooking prep for a night out with old friends (or perhaps a strategic escape from early-arriving in-laws).

Toast is here to help you plan the best Thanksgiving Eve shift your restaurant has ever executed. We analyzed Toast platform data from full-service restaurants (FSRs) from November 22, 2023, and compared it to all other Wednesdays in 2023. We then compiled it here with useful tips for restaurant operators.

2023 Thanksgiving Eve insights:

• There were 11% more transactions on Thanksgiving Eve than on the average Wednesday in 2023.

• Same-store GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) grew by 23% compared to the average Wednesday in 2023.

• The average ticket size on Thanksgiving Eve was about 10% larger than the average Wednesday in 2023.

• Alcohol sales were up by 70% compared to the average Wednesday in 2023.

• Hard seltzer sales increased by more than double (252%) when compared to the average Wednesday in 2023.

• Guests chose less healthy items as salad sales decreased by 10%, bowls decreased by 17%, and pie sales more than doubled (244%) when compared to the average Wednesday in 2023.

• Catering sales increased by over 35% when compared to the average Wednesday in 2023.

• Take-out sales were up by 10% when compared to the average Wednesday in 2023.

Ready to see just how this pre-turkey celebration impacts your bottom line?

How to prepare for Thanksgiving Eve at your restaurant

Stock up on inventory

Our 2023 Thanksgiving Eve data tells the story of high-volume restaurants filled with guests who were both eating and drinking more. All food sales we analyzed were up except salads (-10%) and bowls (-17%). Instead, guests were enjoying menu items like pizza (+42%), sushi (+28%), and some sweet treats — desserts (+43%) and pie (+244%). Clearly, nobody's waiting until Thursday for their decadent slice of heaven.

The pre-Thanksgiving rush isn't just at the tables. Restaurants can also expect to fulfill many take-out and catering orders. Our 2023 data shows significant spikes across all off-premise channels: catering orders soared 35%, take-out jumped 10%, and delivery rose 7% compared to typical Wednesdays. Some guests prefer to avoid the crowds of the busy holiday weekend.

Ordering inventory and scheduling delivery drivers for the holiday season is a delicate balancing act. You don’t want to sell out and have to turn away diners, but you also don’t want to overstaff. Look at shift notes from years past and make a plan that’ll work for your business. Inventory planning can help. Learn more about that here.

Try out a holiday menu  

For restaurants that choose to stay open on the holidays, there are ways to ensure you help boost your business through the slower, post-holidays winter months.

Having a set holiday menu will make things easier on both front and back-of-house staff. You can also offer a limited drink menu featuring seasonal cocktails. You can use menu engineering to make sure your holiday menus are as profitable as possible — check out our free Menu Engineering Worksheet to get started.

It's also a great idea to consider a holiday catering menu. Holiday catering is an excellent option for regulars who love your food and don't want to cook this season. You can heavily market this through social media, and make sure your guests pre-order their feasts if possible.

Prepare your bartenders for volume

The internet has coined the term “drinksgiving” for a reason. For some bars, Thanksgiving Eve is the biggest drinking night of the year, and our data reflects this. Alcohol sales were up by 70% compared to the average Wednesday in 2023.

Turns out nothing says "reunion with old friends" quite like a hard seltzer. Hard seltzer sales increased by more than double (252%) when compared to the average Wednesday in 2023. Pro tip: Work with your liquor reps early to ensure your hard seltzer supply can meet this exceptional demand. Your returning locals will thank you.

Beyond hard seltzers, it appears Thanksgiving Eve is also celebrated with tequila (+145%), vodka (+135%), and rum (+131%). Overall, all alcoholic beverage sales we analyzed were up in 2023. Consider offering drink specials and training your staff on upselling to make the most of the evening. Thanksgiving Eve could easily be one of your busiest bar nights of the year. Make sure to stock up on inventory and staff accordingly.

Lastly, it’s important to make sure your guests drink responsibly. Check out our article on How to Do Alcohol Training for Servers to ensure guests have both a fun and safe night out!

Staff accordingly 

Creating a restaurant staff schedule during the holidays can be difficult. Beyond your standard front-of-house staff, some extra delivery drivers or bouncers can really make a difference on Thanksgiving Eve.

Your team probably wants to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones too, so staffing for any holiday should be done well in advance. Some restaurants give employees the option to choose between working Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, requiring them to work at least two holidays. Others reward employees with double-time, as well as an end-of-shift gift for working a holiday!

Whatever the case is, make sure your staff knows how thankful you are that they’re willing to come in on the biggest days of the year – and be empathetic towards the fact that they might be giving up family time to be there.

Use tech to help you every step of the way

Wednesday, November 27, 2024, will likely be a busy night for local bars and restaurants. Using historical data from your POS can help you with inventory, staffing, and deciding whether or not to stay open during the holidays. These data-driven business decisions will guide you in the right direction.

Some POS systems will even allow you to determine which menu items will be the most popular during the holidays. If more people are ordering appetizers than entrees, it might be useful to double down on those nachos and cheese when ordering inventory.

If the profits you made on a slow Thanksgiving Day didn’t match your overhead costs last year, consider closing up shop. If anything, your staff will be grateful for the day off. Happy Thanksgiving!

Methodology

Toast analyzed transactions at restaurants on the Toast platform on November 22, 2023, and compared it to transactions for the average  Wednesday in 2023. For alcohol comparisons, Toast analyzed sales data for “hard seltzer, beer, tequila, gin, rum, vodka, wine, and whiskey.” For food comparisons, Toast analyzed food items labeled “BBQ, Bowl, Breakfast Platter, Burger, Burrito, Cheese, Chicken Tender, Curry, Dessert/baked goods, Dumpling, Enchilada, Fajita, Fried Roasted Chicken, Fries, Hot Dog, Nacho, Ramen, Omelette, Pasta, Pie, Pizza, Quesadilla, Rice, Salad, Sandwiches/Wraps, Seafood, Soup/Stew, Steak, Sushi, Tacos, Vegan/Vegetarian, Wings.”