For those who are not going home to the food, family and traditional Thanksgiving festivities, there are options here in East Lansing.
It may not be like Mom’s home-cooked turkey and stuffing, but 24-hour restaurants like Denny’s Restaurant, 2701 E. Grand River Ave., offer Thanksgiving meals for those who do not have the luxury, time or desire to make the trek home.
“We are extremely busy on Thanksgiving,” manager Deanna Wehrle said. “It is a place where older people with no local families and students that don’t want to bug their friends at their home can come and have a traditional Thanksgiving.”
Denny’s offers a take on its $9.99 chicken dinner with turkey, dressing and gravy with a traditional side of cranberry sauce.
“We also see a lot of foreign and international students who come in,” Wehrle said.
The restaurant also offers the seasonal pumpkin and pecan pies for desert from September to January.
However, there are options that are different than the traditional bird, like the Cadillac Club, 1115 S. Washington Ave., in Lansing, which offers a Las Vegas-style buffet on Turkey Day.
“This year we have our Las Vegas-style buffet which is notorious,” event coordinator Ronda Liskey said. “This is our third year the Cadillac Club is offering a wonderful dinner with live entertainment.”
Master of the vibes Dick Ott is set to perform during the dinner with all the trimmings from noon to 5 p.m. The dinner is $19.95 for adults and $10 for children. No walk-ins will be seated — only reservations.
The Cadillac Club also offers a meal for the homeless on Thanksgiving, supported by the Lansing area Volunteers of America.
“This dinner works out really well because it gives the chance for those who normally take care of them to able to take care of their own families,” Liskey said.
They serve in three shifts at noon, 1:20 p.m. and 2:40 p.m.
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