LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On the day before Thanksgiving, restaurants and catering companies are hard at work preparing meals.
In Eastern Jefferson County, Ladyfingers catering spent the day distributing food and owner Deborah Lowrey says it's much different than what they are used to. They went from serving thousands to having groups no bigger than 16 people.
"We had a lot of two people Thanksgiving dinners, four people thanksgiving dinners," Lowrey said. "What we're known for are the large galas and the big events."
While she said their sales are only about half of what they were this time last year, Deborah says they are just glad to be working.
Susan Hershberg, the owner of Wiltshire Pantry is also glad to be in business.
"Every order keeps a chef cooking and a farmer farming," Hershberg said.
In an effort to continue to grow the local food economy, they created mini Thanksgiving dinners.
"What it is is it's perfect for two people so that you have plenty of leftovers because I always think that's the best thing about Thanksgiving," Hershberg said.
While they are best for two people with leftovers, they can feed six people. Some ordered multiple packages, others simply ordered a pie.
Wiltshire had nearly 300 orders for this Thanksgiving! They wanted to provide a flexible, customizable package for the holidays.
Adjusting this Thanksgiving is also what Lindsay Hack, the owner of Lindsay's Kitchen is doing.
"We usually have a giant Christmas tree and host a whole lot of Thanksgiving and Christmas parties here," Hack said.
They are providing home cooked meals and desserts to keep business moving, but she says the hardest thing is turning away their regular customers.
"They don't even realize they can't dine in and they are showing up and I'm having to not let them sit down and eat their meal because we are all they have," Hack said.
Luckily, they can provide them a warm meal to take with them and still feel the love and joy a holiday can bring.
