HOUSTON — Bars across Houston get packed the night before Thanksgiving for what those in the service industry say will be one of the busiest nights of the year.
On this night last year, HandleBar on Washington Avenue did three times the sales it usually makes on an average Wednesday night.
"It’s the biggest of the year, of any Wednesday we’ll have," bartender Blake Branson said. "For example, we, on a regular Wednesday, hope to do $3,000. Tonight we have the potential to do $10,000."
With so many people returning home for the holiday, a lot of them will be left looking for something to do. For many of them, it’ll involve a drink or two. And that’s fine, as long as they’re not driving.
"Definitely ride share. Uber, Lyft, whatever you’ve got to do," Branson said. "Aside from paying for parking, worry about how you’ll get home from where you’re going."
"Designate a sober driver, use an Uber, call a taxi," Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman said.
Herman said Harris County law enforcement officers will be out on the roadways this holiday season, as they are every year, looking for suspected drunk drivers.
"It’s like beating the drum every year," Hermann said "We try to get out and educate folks as to why you should not drink and drive but every year you see the same things happening."
The patrons on Washington Avenue are celebrating Wednesday night and are hoping everyone makes it home safely to be with their families on Thanksgiving.