Thousands gather for Christmas Eve buffet

JACKSON, Tenn. — One Christmas Eve tradition in the Hub City has been going on for over 30 years.

A long line of over 100 customers gathered outside the Old Country Store Tuesday at 5 a.m.

They were all there for the Christmas Eve breakfast buffet, a Hub City tradition that seemingly gets bigger every year.

“We’ll serve nearly 2,000 people today, between 5:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” Old Country Store general manager Brooks Shaw said.

Shaw and his family run the store, which seats almost 300 people at a time on Christmas Eve.

They say the family atmosphere has turned the Old Country Store into a popular destination for the holidays.

One family even said they had been in line at the store since midnight.

“It really has become a tradition for a lot of families. They came as husband and wife 35 years ago, they had kids of their own, then their kids grew and had kids of their own, and so you have two people turn into 30 people,” Shaw said.

“Preparation starts weeks ago, going through how much food do we need to order, what servers are scheduled,” Shaw said.

In fact, the scheduling for Christmas was set almost two months ago.

The star of the show is the buffet, which has all the classic breakfast items.  It even had some new twists, like chocolate gravy.

For the Shaw family, watching the buffet evolve into a Hub City staple has been incredible.

Every year it gets a little more fun.

“We plan and plan and plan, and then once the day starts rolling, it’s like a boulder rolling down hill, you can’t really stop it, you just gotta hold on,” Shaw said.

If you’re looking to go out and eat Christmas Day your options are limited. There are some places in Jackson that will be open.

For breakfast, Waffle Houses in the Hub City are open 24/7. IHOP will be open with shortened hours.

The Starbucks location on Vann Drive will also be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The RIFA soup kitchen will have a special Christmas lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.