I love December in restaurants and bars. The first three quarters of the month are bananas; the holiday parties are seemingly endless, the corporate cards are loose, there are lights and festivities. Everyone is out, people are shopping, guests are happy and generous — it’s great. Then Christmas hits.
I should be more specific, it’s more like Christmas Eve hits and everything screeches to a halt. Restaurant traffic between Christmas and New Year’s Eve slows to a crawl. Yes, there are exceptions, like tourist spots and operations near malls and shopping centers. But generally everything starts to die down, and no one really takes note because everyone is busy prepping for New Year’s Eve, which for many operators will be the busiest day of the year and more than makes up for the slow days leading up to it.
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