Olivia Woo, Contributing Photographer

Next Thursday, many New Haven home cooks will be tasked with preparing a turkey or two for their Thanksgiving feast. Yet several of the city’s professional chefs will take on a restaurant-sized turkey load — such as Nathaniel Vibert, who will be in charge of 25 birds.

Vibert, who is a sous chef at Heirloom, a New American restaurant located on Chapel Street, explained the intensive process of prepping enough turkeys to feed upwards of 50 people. 

“Early next week, we brine everything,” Vibert said. “And the day before, we do seven or eight rounds of turkeys in and out of ovens.”

In addition to Heirloom, New Haven restaurants such as Jack’s Bar and Steakhouse to Sherkaan Indian Street Food will serve up meals on Thanksgiving day. 

Heirloom — located on the ground floor of The Study at Yale — will not only remain open on Thanksgiving day but will offer customers a themed spread featuring cider-brined turkey, whipped potatoes and stuffing. Heirloom will also serve a sampling of its typical menu items.

The special menu is designed to accommodate the needs of a variety of patrons within a single party, which a home-cooked meal might not be able to do. The restaurant also welcomes students who are staying on campus over November break.

“Because it’s New Haven, hopefully we’ll get some college kids wanting to look for that remembrance of home,” Vibert said.

Other local restaurants that plan to stay open on Thanksgiving also hope to offer a warm meal to those who may not be able to see their families for the holiday. 

Jack’s Bar and Steakhouse, on College Street, is one of those establishments. The restaurant will serve up its typical Italian cuisine until 7 p.m. Thanksgiving day.

“In New Haven, you have people that live alone, and they want to have a meal,” Christian Vinueza, a server at Jack’s, said. “And it’s good for us, because other places close and everyone wants to eat, they come here and it’s nice.” 

Of course, not every restaurant that chooses to open its doors on Thanksgiving can give their employees a day off. Jack’s has chosen to host a Thanksgiving night party for its employees and their friends to celebrate after a day spent at work.

Sherkaan Indian Street Food has a tradition of offering a special “Friendsgiving” menu to customers, available for pickup on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This model allows the restaurant to close on Thanksgiving, giving employees the opportunity to celebrate the holiday with their families. 

In keeping with its philosophy of bringing a twist to traditional Indian dishes, Sherkaan’s “Friendsgiving” menu consists of Thanksgiving dishes with a “desi flair,” according to Eileen Shekman, the restaurant’s general manager. The restaurant will offer dishes such as spiced yogurt-marinated turkey breast and orange cardamom bread pudding to customers placing orders for pick-up.

Sherkaan has been offering their “Friendsgiving” menu since the restaurant opened in 2019, helping recover sales from a closed business day. In addition to gaining the sales benefits derived from the tradition, the restaurant hopes to make the American holiday more accessible to anyone who wishes to celebrate.

“That’s kind of why we market it as ‘Friendsgiving’ and not as a Thanksgiving meal, but something to share with people that might be multicultural and experiencing Thanksgiving for the first time,” Shekman said.

Thanksgiving this year will be on Thursday, Nov. 28.