Eating out on Thanksgiving? You're not alone. Some Americans are opting not to cook

For Joseph Frascati and his fiancee, Rosa Hernandez, it's become their unique Thanksgiving tradition they have no plans of giving up any time soon.

Yes, there's the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce and other trimmings. But it's not in the coziness of their home. No, the couple will enjoy their dinner at Villon, a downtown San Francisco restaurant, for the fifth year in a row. They even dined there, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, sitting outside and taking bites of their meals when not wearing their masks.

"It's our thing. At this point, we don’t want to do or try to go anywhere else," said Frascati of Oakland, Calif. "We like this arrangement."

They're not alone. Instead of spending hours looking in the oven or hovering over the stove and maybe saving some money, many Americans are opting to order from or dine in a restaurant on Thanksgiving. A survey from restaurant tech startup Popmenu suggested a trend as nearly half of the 1,000 Americans the website polled said they will do one or the other.

Many restaurants across the country seem to be ready to meet the challenge on turkey day. In addition to serving a traditional meal, there are also several non-traditional Thanksgiving items on their menus catering to different appetites.

"It feels like this year most of our markets sold out quicker than we have in the past as soon we opened up our reservation books," chef and restauranteur Michael Mina told USA TODAY. Mina will have his restaurants in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Nashville, to name a few, open on Thanksgiving. "When you have a lot of people gathering, a restaurant becomes a pretty nice alternative compared to cooking – and worrying."

'They don't have to clean up' afterward

While the cost of food away from home has increased at a faster rate (about 6%) than food at home from a standard grocery trip (2.4%), Michael Swanson, an agriculture economist with Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, told USA TODAY earlier this month, those numbers apparently won't stop many Americans from dining out on Thanksgiving.

"It's absolutely an emerging trend," said Brendan Sweeney, Popmenu's CEO and co-founder. "In this day and age, we're outsourcing everything in some way, even Thanksgiving."

Sweeney said the pandemic also made ordering from restaurants "frictionless," and not cooking, even on holidays like Thanksgiving, is becoming more common. Popmenu is an AI-powered startup that offers online ordering technology to more than 10,000 restaurants worldwide.

"In the past, we probably felt an obligation to cook because of tradition but that's no longer the case," Sweeney said. "Many are saying, 'Hey, we're going to do something different.'"

There are other reasons why more Americans are choosing not to cook on Thanksgiving, said Alisha Merico Binkoski, a marketing director for the Kelly Operations Group based in Pittsburgh. The company oversees 10 restaurants nationwide, including Claim Jumper Steakhouse & Bar and Kings Family Restaurant. Both eateries will be open on Thanksgiving.

"They don’t have to worry about planning for the day, whether it’s what each guest is bringing over, what time to start cooking, whether they have enough food for everyone in attendance, whether their guests are going to linger after dinner and for how long," Merico Binkoski said. "Our guests also enjoy that after dinner they don’t have to clean up."

'Nice to have some options'

While traditional meals, including turkey and ham, will be the top sellers, Merico Binkoski is seeing a shift in customers' tastes on Thanksgiving.

"We do offer other items that are not traditional like seafood dishes, pasta dishes and others that attract that nontraditional type," Merico Binkoski said. "I think that this trend will continue to grow as traditions have changed as millennials and Gen Z start to have their own families and create their own traditions."

Sweeney added, "Our tastes have become more fragmented. We’re now spoiled for having so many choices."

In addition to having a traditional Thanksgiving course for diners, there will also be dishes that are pretty close to its California casual fine dining menu, which is fish and vegetable-driven, said Jason Fox, a Michelin-star executive chef at Villon in San Francisco.

"I think it’s nice to have some options," Fox said.

At nearby One Market in San Francisco, General Manager Lorenzo Bouchard and Executive Chef Mark Dommen are overseeing their 25th and 20th Thanksgiving dinners, respectively. Besides the traditional Thanksgiving meal, they also will offer a roasted pork loin and fish dishes and for those who don't want meat, a cauliflower steak and vegetarian stuffing for starters.

Mina said his International Smoke restaurants nationwide will also offer brisket and salmon and his Estiatorio Ornos location will offer seafood items and lamb and steak as Thanksgiving alternatives.

"A little something for everybody," Mina said.

'Knot in my stomach'

Thanksgiving prep at Villon is a big production, Fox said. The restaurant will have more than 300 pounds of turkey and 200 pounds of potatoes that will lead to "piles and piles of cutting," Fox said. There are countless loaves of bread for stuffing and "tubs and tubs of sliced onions and celery, as they plan to cook for more than 300 people.

"We want it to be bountiful," Fox said. "We err on the side of giving you a big portion."

At One Market, Bouchard and Dommen said their prep includes cooking about 1,000 pounds of turkey, 20 large pans of stuffing and 20 gallons of gravy along with four cases of fresh cranberries to make a sauce that will serve about 500 people.

Both restaurants are hoping for stress-free experiences as their dining parties will range from as low as two to as many as 18 people, for now.

"I’ve already got that knot in my stomach that won’t go away until the last reservation is seated Thursday night, Bouchard said. 

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