Local bars, resturants preparing for New Year’s Eve rush

New Year’s Eve is a special night when family and friends get together and celebrate in a variety of ways. One of those ways is visiting local bars to toast to the new year and new beginnings.

KIFI/KIDK talked with managers at The Celt on Broadway Street and The Frosty Gator on D street in Idaho Falls. They both said they get pretty full during New Year’s Eve. The Celt can usually see up to a 30 percent increase in revenue during a day like New Year’s Eve.

“It’s definitely usually more packed. Of course, it’s a holiday. Everyone wants to celebrate. A lot of people have house parties, but we do get a lot of people that come out downtown,” The Celt’s general manager, Liza McGeachin, said.

“We anticipate a little more flow of traffic. Everybody is off tomorrow, a lot of places are closed and celebrating as a paid holiday tomorrow,” The Frosty Gator’s owner, Jake Schaeffer, said.

New Year’s Eve brings in fun, togetherness and in most cases — drinking. These bars and nightclubs have to prepare for the massive amounts of people they may see all night long — and especially before the clock strikes 12.

“We do bump up our staff. We have more bartenders and servers than we normally would. And also chefs as well, just to be able to make sure that we can handle it. Of course, we’ve bumped up our Champagne and our wine,” McGeachin said.

“We have a few more people on staff. Inventory? Yeah, a little bit more. Not a huge amount. We stay pretty busy, so our inventory stays pretty constant,” Schaeffer said.

Aside from the extra staff and inventory, servers and bartenders see an increase as well in tips. But with all of these positive increases, trouble can also increase when there’s alcohol involved.

“It is very important, especially on a night like this, to be aware of over consumption. It is somewhat up to the individual to be responsible while they’re out partying. But we do what we can and try to make sure that it doesn’t become a problem,” McGeachin said.