Local restaurants prepare for Christmas Day crowds

JACKSON, Tenn. — Want to avoid cooking for the holidays? Workers at several local restaurants said they are preparing for Christmas Day crowds.

Johnathan Williams will spend Christmas Day singing to and serving customers at IHOP in north Jackson.

“It’s IHOP at Christmas,” he said. “You can’t put two better words in the same sentence.”

IHOP will close Christmas Eve at 11 p.m. then reopen Christmas Day at 11 a.m. Williams said they will have a line of people at the door waiting to get in.

“It’s always fun because there’s always such a large crowd that comes out to see us, so we always appreciate it every year,” he said.

Starbucks on Vann Drive in Jackson will also be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Day.

Denny’s off Christmasville Road in Jackson will stay open around the clock. Workers at Denny’s said they bring on extra staff and do extra planning to get ready for the Christmas Day crowds.

Tim Jones, who’s traveling for the holidays, said he is glad these places will be open for people who need it.

“I’ve got family that work in health care, so everybody’s working,” he said. “There’s going to be people who need to go out to eat and need to go get gas or need to do whatever.”

Eating out on Christmas Day does not mean missing out on holiday favorites.

“We’ve always got the turkey and dressing,” Williams said. “We have that all year round.”

Waffle House is also open Christmas Day.