The scene at restaurants and bars on New Year's Eve will be quiet this year. (CHAT News Photo/Bob Schneider)

By Chris Brown

Goodbye 2020

Restaurants, Hatters turn to takeout on New Year’s Eve

Dec 30, 2020 | 3:27 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Most celebrations in 2020 were either cancelled, postponed or held in alternative ways.

It’s only fitting that celebrations to say goodbye to the year will be the same.

New Year’s Eve is usually a big night for restaurants and pubs, whether it’s dine-in services, live music and dancing or Canadian world junior hockey on the TV.

Instead, this year those sorts of things will be happening in people’s homes.

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After a successful Christmas Dinner offering last week, Danielle Dempster at The Mezz, said they wanted to try something for New Year’s Eve as well.

“We didn’t necessarily want to do something dinner based again but we’ve had really great success with our charcuteries down in our 1911 Lounge last year that we decided we want to do it this year,” said the Mezz’s general manager. “So we’re doing a charcuterie board for two people and a bottle of Prosecco for $50. That way people get something to toast at midnight with but they also get something to snack on at the same time.”

Other restaurants like Rossco’s Pub, Skinny’s Smokehouse and Argo’s Restaurant are offering takeout specials.

Tourism Medicine Hat has a list on its website of area restaurants, where you’re sure to find something to suit your tastes to ring in 2021.

Dempster says they want to make life a little easier for Hatters as a way of saying thanks for their support this year.

“Any restaurant right now is feeling a little bit of pressure from not being able to have any kind of dine-in. We’re just really grateful for the support we’ve had from the community with our gift card promos and the Christmas dinners and now with the New Year’s Eve bundles,” she said. “The community’s doing a really great job of supporting us. So absolutely it is going to be a difference in terms of what we would normally do in revenue but we’re just happy to be able to continue to be open in whatever capacity that means for us.”