Downtown Bradenton braces for Thanksgiving Eve, biggest bar night of the year

Big crowds expected on Old Main Street for Thanksgiving Eve celebrations

BRADENTON -- Thanksgiving is all about food and the warmth of being surrounded by loved ones, but the day before Thanksgiving is another matter altogether.

The Downtown Merchants Association will be closing off Old Main Street beginning around 2:30 p.m. for Thanksgiving Eve celebrations -- but it's not your typical street festival, according to Merchants President Rick Willats, co-owner of O'Bricks Irish Pub & Martini Bar.

"There won't be any outside music or vendors or anything like that," said Willats. "It's just because of the volume of people that come downtown the night before Thanksgiving, that the police approached us a couple of years ago and asked us to start closing the street for safety's sake. No one wants to see cars driving down the road with that many people crossing the street and risk hitting anyone."Willats said it's one of the biggest draws of the year for the downtown area, but it's definitely the biggest bar night of the year.

"We get more people that come downtown for New Year's Eve to watch the ball drop, but Thanksgiving Eve is a bigger bar night," he said. "The bars will be full out the door."

Mikki Vitato, a bartender at the Old Main Pub, agreed, saying it's one of the craziest nights of the year.

"It's definitely busier than even New Year's Eve," she said. "We tend to see a lot of students in town visiting family for the holidays. The crowd tends to be younger than normal, but still varies from people in their 40s and 50s."

Vitato said the bars will essentially double staff to accommodate crowds at the bar, "that will be three or four deep. But it's a good crowd. Everyone is in a festive mood and is just out to have a good time."

Willats said there will be food trucks on Old Main Street to accommodate the later bar crowds after the restaurants close. Alcohol will be allowed on the street, but must be in a plastic cup or aluminum container.

"The street will be closed until the bars close, which is 2 a.m.," said Willats. "We'll start the process of closing down the street at 2:30 p.m. and hope to have it completely closed by 3 p.m. and the food trucks will be there until around midnight."

Vitato said since it does tend to be a younger crowd, the action doesn't get too heavy until around 8:30 p.m., "but won't let up until closing."

As part of the festivities, catch up with some Bradenton Herald employees who will be on Old Main Street from 10 p.m. to midnight selling copies of the Thanksgiving Day paper. Get yours early at a table just west of the Bradenton Herald office building on the corner of Old Main Street and Third Avenue West.

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.

This story was originally published November 26, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Downtown Bradenton braces for Thanksgiving Eve, biggest bar night of the year ."