The Best Chain Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving have you out of your usual routine? Here are some handy guides to the restaurants, fast food chains, and stores open on Thanksgiving Day. And if you're ready to start shopping right after dinner, here's when Black Friday starts at major retailers.
There are a ton of reasons you might want to spend some time in a chain restaurant on Thanksgiving. Maybe you had an A Christmas Story-style cooking disaster, maybe you're traveling and need a spot of lunch, maybe you just like restaurants, OK!?
Unfortunately for you -- and fortunately for the folks who work there -- most restaurants are going to be closed on Thanksgiving Day. But we're here for you. We've dug through the nation's chain restaurants -- everywhere from Cracker Barrel to Sizzler -- to find all the places that will keep doors open for Thanksgiving.
Here are a bunch of options you can count on:
What to expect: Select locations will stay open for Turkey Day.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? The Breeze will be serving a Caribbean-inspired menu for $19.99. That will include sliced turkey, callaloo, green beans, cornbread stuffing, cranberry pineapple chutney, and more. So... kind of?
What to expect: Locations across the country will be open until 8pm on Thanksgiving. The breakfast menu will be available until 11am and then a limited breakfast menu and special Thanksgiving option will be served for the rest of the day.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? As mentioned above, yup. The T-Day meal includes your choice of an entrée, three sides, bread, and a slice of pie for $14.99. You can upgrade that to a Premium meal (the chain's words). For $16.99, you'll get both ham and turkey.
What to expect: The Italian restaurant will be serving on Thanksgiving.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? There's a fixed Thanksgiving menu as well as two sizes of Thanksgiving "feasts" to go.
What to expect: Locations are open. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? There's going to be an extensive Thanksgiving menu. The big dinner will cost you, though. It's $75 for adults and $28 for children. However, you don't have to go with that. You can order off the regular menu as well.
What to expect: As it's done every year since the restaurant was founded in 1969, Cracker Barrel will welcome guests on Thanksgiving.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? In-restaurant, you can get the Turkey n' Dressing Meal at every location across the country. That's the same option it's offered every year since 1988. You know what you're getting with Cracker Barrel. Though, the meal isn't $3.99 like it was in '88. It'll run you $12.99 now.
What to expect: Locations will be open for the holiday from 11am to 8pm. It will have the usual menu available in addition to a three-course holiday-themed dinner.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? You can belly up to a three-course dinner that features Herb-Roasted Turkey or Petite Filet Mignon as the main course.
What to expect: The restaurant with an oversized guitar will be open on Thanksgiving. That's perfect, because what says Thanksgiving better than a cutout of Jimi Hendrix?
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? Hard Rock Cafe will be serving up a special menu with slow-roasted turkey breast, roasted fresh vegetables, stuffing, sweet potato mash, cranberry sauce, and gravy.
What to expect: The Diner will be open for the holiday and its seasonal meal is perfect for anyone who chooses ham over turkey.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? In addition to its Holiday Feast To-Go, Metro Diner will be serving an in-restaurant feast that includes baked ham with cherry sauce or roasted turkey with cranberry sauce and a pile of sides.
What to expect: If tacos are what you crave on Thanksgiving, select El Pollo Loco locations will be there, by your side, waiting to serve you tacos on Thanksgiving.
Will it Serve Thanksgiving Food? While a taco filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sales sounds kind of amazing, no. El Pollo Loco isn't doing a Thanksgiving menu.
What to expect: The big steakhouse chain -- the big PonBon -- will be open at locations across the country on Thanksgiving Day.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? Yup. There will be a holiday-themed buffet available for anyone who swings by.
What to expect: Participating locations will keep the doors open on Thanksgiving. Call your local outpost to check before you head out.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? Sizzler locations that are open will offer a T-Day meal that starts at $12.99. It includes fresh roast turkey with stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and more.
What to expect: All seven of its US locations will be slinging meals on Thanksgiving.
Will Is Serve Thanksgiving Food? The prix fixe menu features roasted butternut squash soup, chopped salad, roasted turkey breast with sausage and cornbread stuffing, cranberry relish and giblet gravy, and lots more.
What to expect: They'll be open all over for Turkey Day.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? There's a special Thanksgiving Roast Turkey Feast menu available at more than 40 Ted's locations. The Feast is just $29 unless you live in New York. NYC locations will have a special three-course feast option for $55.
What to expect: Select locations will be open on Thanksgiving, including restaurants in Springfield, Virginia; Gaithersburg, Maryland; Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; Coral Gables, Florida; Sunrise, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Waikiki, Hawaii.
Will It Serve Thanksgiving Food? Nope. The regular menu is what's on offer.
Want More Free Food?
Here's our huuuuuuuge running list of all the free food you can get right now, as well as the best reward programs, birthday freebies, and holiday gift card deals you'll find. If you want a little more than, say a free taco, we also have you covered with a long list of meals you can get at fast food chains under $5. You're welcome.Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.