INDIANAPOLIS — One of the biggest party weekends of the year is on the horizon.
Hoosiers have their calendars booked for New Year’s Eve, and that means big business in downtown Indianapolis ahead of what’s expected to be a huge four-day weekend for sales.
“When we have a holiday that falls on a Sunday, it gives our guests extra time to celebrate,” said Joel Reitz, the co-owner of O’Reilly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant.
With New Year’s Eve falling at the end of a busy weekend — after the Indiana Pacers play on Saturday and the Indianapolis Colts take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday — it’s shaping up to be a big money maker.
Reitz expects to see thousands of people walk through his doors at O’Reilly’s Irish Pub & Restaurant.
“It has been a very busy month of December with events downtown,” said Reitz. “This will be a nice way to end the month of December and 2023.”
Meanwhile, down the street at The District Tap, Assistant General Manager Brent Drescher said it will be a busy weekend from Friday night into Monday for him.
“We’re big on domestic beers when we have Colts games on the weekends, so we’ll easily go, you pick one domestic line, and we’ll go through five to six kegs of that alone,” said Drescher.
Some people FOX59 and CBS4 talked to said they are focusing their efforts this weekend and only celebrating Saturday night.
“We actually came in town for a couple basketball games,” said John Watson, who is in the Circle City with family for the weekend. “We’re going to the Pacer game tomorrow night to see them play the Knicks, and we’re actually going to see the Mad Ants tonight.”
Unlike Watson, others plan to party all weekend.
“I think everyone is going to go out Saturday and Sunday, and I’m going to keep it rolling and go on a four-day bender,” Indy resident Shelby Sullivan said as she took a green tea shot at The District Tap Friday night. “Cheers! Happy new Year!”
Either way, restaurants expect this to be a massive weekend for business, and they’re more than ready to cash in.
“These big weekends are huge, they make up for the little gap that you get Wednesday and Thursday during the week,” said Drescher. “I want to see everyone come down and have fun and have a good time, just enjoy what the downtown has to offer.”
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