A few local restaurants will be open on Christmas day

GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA, Miss. (WCBI) – Every Christmas it seems like towns all across the state shut down.

Everyone is either with family or loved ones celebrating the holiday.

What about folks who don’t have family or anywhere to go this holiday season?

Finding a place to eat can be hard on Christmas day if you don’t already have plans.

On top of that, most people dread working on Christmas.

Marsha Heard, however, looks forward to working through the holiday every year at the Columbus Waffle House.

“I’ve been working for the Waffle House for many years, and I work every Christmas. And… I like it,” said Heard.

As it turns out, Christmas day is actually pretty busy for the restaurant.

“You know you have some people that don’t have family. Then when they come in they sit and they talk to us and then they laugh and they just… we make them feel comfortable, and then they come back. We just try to draw them and bring them back to us,” said Heard.

“A lot of people don’t have family, so we’re they’re extended family and they are able to come and eat with us for the holidays. They really are glad that we are open because there’s a lot of places that aren’t open so they really appreciate the fact that we are open and here to serve them,” said Waffle House employee Marchetta Ellis.

In Starkville, the new Italian restaurant Gondolier has a similar opinion when it comes to staying open on Christmas.

“We know that there’s some people who just don’t have somewhere to go, and we thought we’d be an option for them. We just to give them that opportunity to spend some time with someone who cares,” said co-owner Sarah Perez.

It’s this type of warm atmosphere that employees say keeps people coming back for more.

“It’s a sense of you know family and love and we just like to keep our hearts open for everybody,” said Perez.

“We do have a lot of regulars that, we see them at the door and we already have their food on the grill ready for them when they come in,” said Ellis.

Marsha says at the end of the day, it’s all about making people feel welcome.

“We’re family… I just like to make people feel like family.”

Both Waffle House and Gondolier plan on being open the entire day tomorrow for anyone looking to get a good meal.