If staying home and cooking on Thanksgiving isn’t your idea of a “holiday,” there are a couple of Italian eateries that are here to help. Here’s all the information about whether Olive Garden or Carrabba’s Italian Grill is open or closed on Thanksgiving Day 2019.
For all you unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks lovers out there, we have some bad news. Olive Garden is closed on Thanksgiving. The website says, “Olive Garden restaurants are closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day to allow our team members to spend time with their family and friends. Depending on the amount of business on the day before these holidays, the restaurants may close early. We leave this decision to the discretion of the management team. Please contact the restaurant directly for the scheduled closing time the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve.”
However, if you would like to cater your Thanksgiving dinner from Olive Garden, there is still time to order and pick up on Wednesday (Nov. 27) before they close.
For Carrabba’s fans, there’s a little bit of good news. We contacted them and while they say they “will not be open for dine-in on Thanksgiving Day,” there is the Take & Bake option.
Carrabba’s Take & Bake is made up of “made-from-scratch dishes [that] make cooking for friends and family easier than ever this holiday season. Choose from ready-to-bake dishes like mashed sweet potatoes or our signature lasagne.”
And guess what? You don’t have to pick it up the day before. Carraba’s tells us that they “are open a few hours Thanksgiving Day in the morning for pickups.”
If you are dining out for Thanksgiving, you’re in good company. According to the National Restaurant Association, nearly 10 percent of adults plan to eat their Thanksgiving meal in a restaurant. Additionally, four percent of those who eat at home purchase their meal from a restaurant.
Among those going out for Thanksgiving, 31 percent said they are going to the same restaurant they always go to on Thanksgiving. Another 30 percent said they’re going to one that is for special occasions, while 21 percent said they would dine at a favorite restaurant. Only 18 percent go to a restaurant they’ve never been to before.
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