Wilmington restaurants sees large crowds on Thanksgiving

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – It was a busy Thanksgiving for some area restaurants known for their family-style cuisine – like K&W on Oleander Drive in Wilmington on Thursday.

Danita Pino is a manager at the cafeteria-style restaurant.

“It was like everybody in the Port City was here, it was good,” she said. “It was a good day.”

A good day despite not having the day off on the Thanksgiving holiday.

“It was still a blessing to serve other people, you know serve the community,” said Pino.

Line server Burnetta Boyd had to work but said she felt appreciated by the customers who decided to come out to eat.

“The customers were saying Happy Thanksgiving,” she said.  “They were glad that we were open, yeah, and that made me feel a little better about having to come to work on a holiday.”

A welcome relief for those opting to eat out rather than staying home to cook, like James Andrews, who had no plans on cooking.

“We didn’t cook at all today, we ate out everywhere we went,” he said.

Andrews stopped by Cracker Barrel first – but didn’t want to wait.

“Out the door slammed with people,” he said. “So we ended up over here.”

Cracker Barrel Manager Brittany Page was expecting large crowds.

“I’ve been with the company for going on six years doing Thanksgiving, and yeah we stay busy,” she said. “We have a lot going out this time of year.”

Page empathizes with her guest – when it comes to not wanting to cook and clean up after a Thanksgiving meal.

“I have two kids, I don’t blame them,” she said. “My aunt cooks for me.”

For some going out to eat was out of necessity – Ann Hilgert was in Wilmington to help her son move from Georgia.

“We’re helping him move in, my husband and I, and that’s why, we don’t have everything we need to cook,” she said.

Most restaurants will be back open Friday.

Thanksgiving is up with double-digit percent increases this year when it comes to the price of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, canned pumpkin, and other staples.

The US government estimates food prices will be up 9.5% to 10.5% this year, historically, the rise has only gone up by 2% annually in previous years.