People packed local restaurants on Thanksgiving instead of cooking at home.
“We're having Thanksgiving dinner,” said Doyle Thresher, of Fort Smith.
People eating at the Village Inn in Fort Smith enjoyed turkey, dressing, and all the fixings.
“It's good,” said Thresher. “I recommend it to the folks that are close. It's a good place to come.”
Thresher and his wife decided to dine out this Thanksgiving. Their family lives far away and will not get together until the weekend.
“We came here last year,” said Thresher. “It was good, so it's just something that we've done because of the way our families get separated.”
Employees at the Village Inn worked to keep up on Thursday.
“We have our own stuffing, have mashed potatoes, our green beans, all that stuff is homemade,” said General Manager Roshelle White.
White says they started preparing for Thanksgiving about two weeks ago. “We’ll probably have them lined up halfway around the building sometime today,” she said.
White said they had to bring in extra staff to handle all of the customers on Thanksgiving Day.
Tammy Whitworth and her family chose to eat out on Thanksgiving to give her mom a break. “She has cooked forever, every Thanksgiving, and we just decided we would give her a break and do something different this year,” said Whitworth.
Customers admit eating out is not quite like going to grandma’s house, but say spending time with family is what really matters.
“The season of course is always about the family and the blessings and the things that we have,” said Thresher.
The Village Inn is open all day Thanksgiving.