Food & Drink

No Turkey? No problem. Here are some Columbia-area restaurants open on Thanksgiving

It’s understandable to not want to cook a feast for a group of people, let alone travel with others, with a pandemic still looming across the country.

But with Thanksgiving Day fast approaching, it’s time to make plans one way or another.

Luckily, there are more than 50 restaurants across the Midlands that will be open this holiday so you don’t have to battle for a last-minute turkey or other fixings at your local grocery store.

In addition to some of the family-owned restaurants that will be open on Thanksgiving, here are some other options to chose from:

British Bulldog Pub — 4 p.m.- 10 p.m.

1220 Bower Parkway, Columbia

California Dreaming — 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.; reservations available

401 S. Main St., Columbia

Carolina Ale House — 4 p.m.- midnight

708 Lady St. and 277 Columbiana Drive, Columbia

Cola’s Restaurant — noon- 8 p.m.; reservations preferred

1215 Assembly St., Columbia

Columbo’s Restaurant — 10:30 a.m.- 2 p.m.; buffet, reservations required

2100 Bush River Road, Columbia

Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse — 11:30 a.m.- 4 p.m.; reservations preferred

1508 Main St., Columbia

Cracker Barrel — 6 a.m.- 9 p.m. at four locations

2208 Bush River Road, Columbia

2300 Legrand Road, Columbia

1140 Kinley Road, Irmo

253 Forum Drive, Columbia



Fatz Cafe
— 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.

942 East Main St., Lexington



Good Life Cafe
— 7 a.m.- 4 p.m.

1614 Main St., Columbia



Halls Chophouse
— 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.; walk-ins accepted, all reservations already booked

1221 Main St., Suite 150, Columbia

Hampton Street Vineyard — noon- 8 p.m.; reservations preferred

1207 Hampton Street, Columbia

Lizard’s Thicket — 6 a.m.- 5 p.m.

15 locations

Old Mill Brewpub — 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.; reservations preferred (last reservation at 3 p.m.)

711 East Main St., Lexington

Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse — noon- 8 p.m., walk-ins accepted, reservations also available

410 Columbiana Drive, Columbia



Ruby Tuesday
— 11 a.m.- 10 p.m. at three area locations

5464 Sunset Blvd., Lexington

2504 Augusta Road, West Columbia

120 Columbiana Circle, Columbia



Ruth’s Chris Steak House
— noon- 9:30 p.m.; reservations preferred, bar and lounge walk-ins accepted

924-A Senate St., at the Hilton Hotel, Columbia



The Grand
— 11 a.m.- 12 a.m.; reservations only

1621 Main St., Columbia



The Main Course
— 11:30 a.m.- 6 p.m.

1634 Main St., Columbia



And of course, you can always count on Waffle House, IHOP and Denny’s, which have numerous locations around the Midlands, as well as a number of Chinese food restaurants.

Did we miss someone? Email reporter Andrew Caplan at acaplan@thestate.com.

This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 10:22 AM.

Andrew Caplan
The State
Andrew Caplan is a watchdog journalist who hails from Florida. He comes to The State Media Company after winning several statewide awards for investigative work covering elected officials, as well as public and government entities. He holds a master’s degree from the University of South Florida.
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