Big Sur businesses stay open on Christmas day

While a lot of businesses are closed on Christmas Day, some restaurants on Highway One are bucking that trend, busy serving locals and visitors alike.

“Driving down the coast on Christmas Day is nice because there’s less traffic, but I think the risk was that we weren’t going to find places to stop,” said Lara Hruska visiting from Seattle.

It’s also been a long drive for Ankit Shah, a tourist from Memphis, Tennessee.

“We have been driving for two hours now,” Shah said. “It was really difficult because all the restaurants and all the shops were closed.”

Finally, they found a place to grab a vegetarian burrito to go. By staying open on the holiday, Big Sur stores a seeing a much needed boost in business, after the Soberanes Fire smoldered their bottom line earlier this year.

“Since the fire, we haven’t been busy,” Big Sur General Store employee Janneth Verdeja said. “Today is the first day, and it feels like summer.”

And the store is seeing that on its books.

“We had to go get a second bank, too, because it was actually pretty busy,” Verdeja said.

Equally busy is the River Inn next door, which is severing those not in a hurry to hit the road.

“I got a chicken sandwich and some french fries and a beer, so it’s going to be a good Christmas, hopefully,” Odie DeSmith said.

Both places will also stay open Monday, taking advantage of the business this holiday season has brought.