TYLER, Texas — As East Texans "wine" down before preparing their Thanksgiving feast, local bars and restaurants are preparing to serve a different feast: "Drinksgiving."
"Drinksgiving" or "Blackout Wednesday" is the day before Thanksgiving where people go out to local bars to enjoy drinks with friends and family.
One East Texas bar is preparing to celebrate the occasion.
“One of Rick's ideas was to do a Drinks-giving just to kind of get everybody in before Thanksgiving, take the edge off of hanging out with your family,” Haley Wright, a bartender at Rick’s on the Square, said.
Bars will also be enforcing safety measures to ensure no one gets overly intoxicated or hurt.
“We like to think they were always prepared for those types of situations," Chris Olivier, General Manager of Walk-Ons, said. "We like to train our bartenders to start noticing when people are starting to get a little tipsy or have a little bit too much. And then we get a manager to step in."
Bars will also help assist in transportation in case any of their customers need an alternative route.
“I myself have called Ubers for people but there is a taxi service here in Tyler and we do have their phone number basically on speed dial," Wright said. "We're trying to help you we want you to make it home safe so you can spend Thanksgiving with your family.”
The Tyler Police Department says they will have extra officers on duty patrolling around restaurants, bars and roads to ensure people are obeying state and traffic laws.
“We have all our officers on the streets to not only answer calls to service but answer calls to 911 but to enforce those traffic laws which are DWIs,” said Andy Erbaugh, Public Information Officer for Tyler Police Department.
If you happen to see someone driving under the influence don’t hesitate to call your local police department.