Thanksgiving 2022 is a welcomed return to normalcy for local restaurants
SACRAMENTO - Food, football, and family. Americans are celebrating this Thanksgiving Day.
Some are choosing to spend the holiday out of the kitchen, while at the same time, supporting local businesses.
CBS13 was in Old Sacramento where one restaurant welcomed people for some festive meals and fun. For the restaurants that decided to stay open on Thanksgiving, 2022 has been something of a return to normalcy. And from patrons to staff, that's more than enough to be thankful for this year.
Rio City Café is taking all comers.
"We have reservations but only because we weren't sure what was gonna be open," said restaurant customer Rachel Wolf.
And servers like Andra Ionita can't wait.
"Oh, my god, it feels so great. I'm so happy to be around people again and especially being here for this special day this is my service," she said. "This is my gratitude."
After two years of a different kind of holiday, the feeling of togetherness is evident this Thanksgiving.
"Life doesn't have much of a purpose, to be honest," said customer Jill Huckaby. "You need to be able to live life and enjoy people from all angles."
"I think it's so nice. I love seeing other people have a good time and enjoying being outside," said customer Gianna Huckaby.
Expect Rio City to be packed tonight.
"Our volume is up. We're gonna do bigger numbers than we have in the past, especially for 2020 and 2021," said Jimmy Gayaldo, Rio City Café's general manager.
...which is exactly what they hoped for.
"We have a lot of reservations today. It's nice to have everybody wanting to come back in. We have our regulars, we have a tourist spot also but we're just really looking forward to having everyone come in," said Gayaldo.
...to set up a day of gratitude with their community again.
Gayaldo tells CBS13 us that he fully expects Rio City Café to be full at different points tonight and that he is fully staffed.