The celebration means an increase in crowds and increase need for safety.
TRAVERSE CITY -- The start of 2010 is just around the corner and that means local restaurants are gearing up for the big night.
"It will be one of the busiest days of the year and we will have a full staff and I'm sure it will go well into the night," says manager of State Street Grille, Jeff Davies.
Staff at State Street Grille in Traverse City are already preparing their New Year's Eve menu, but they're also making sure that customers stay safe as they ring in the new year.
"Our local vendor H. Cox and Sons have given us a stack of cards for anybody that needs a cab ride home. We give them a card for any of the local cab companies and all they have to do is sign the back of the card and the ride is free. So nobody has an excuse to drink and then drive home," says Davies.
Just down the street at Lil Bo Pub and Grille staff are also anticipating a full new years crowd, but are keeping safety as their top priority.
"We close by midnight on the weekends, but for New Years we'll be open a little bit later, definitely not doing 4 a.m....It's not our goal to over serve somebody and have them go out our door and god forbid be in an accident," says Lil Bo manager, Nancy Freund.
Meanwhile, it's local cab and bus services that are also stepping up business to make sure people have a safe ride home.
"BATA is extending their buses on New Year's Eve. We normally would close in the evening but we're extending hours from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m....We're actually running six buses in Grand Traverse County and Leelanau counties," says office manager of the Bay Area Transportation Authority, Carrie Thompson.
Chippewa Cab company is also increasing their presence in the area Thursday evening.
"We'll have a strong presence in front of the bars downtown, trying to encourage people to come our cab, especially if we see someone coming out drunk. We do our best to get them into a cab....It's a service that's necessary. Anywhere you have drinking, you need service to get them home safely," says manager of Chippewa Cab, Issac McKnight.
