Local Bars Prepare For Thanksgiving Eve Celebration

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Thanksgiving Eve is traditionally a time for many to reconnect.

On Main Street in Manayunk, Beer trucks have been dropping dozens of kegs to bars and taverns loading up for the long holiday weekend.

"You know, it is one of the biggest celebrating nights, I like to say."

Patrick Watkins, assistant general manager of Kildaire's Irish Pub, says he's looking for a big happy crowd led by young professionals and later, the traditional surge of college kids home for the holiday.

Down the street, at the Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant, general manager Mike Rose says Thanksgiving Eve isn't what it used to be:

"If it was 15-20 years ago, yes, I'd say it would be ranked right up there with the top ten."

Rose, who's been on Main Street since the mid 1980's, says the crowds are still strong but alcohol consumption has dropped. And with the economy still in the doldrums, people are a little tighter with a buck.

Reported by Paul Kurtz, KYW Newsradio