On Christmas Day, those looking for a quick bite to eat, a place to share a holiday meal or a bar to enjoy a brew or two will have slim pickings in the Marietta area.
However, there are a handful of locations that will not have their windows shuttered and doors closed Tuesday.
If hunger pangs strike after 4 p.m., Napoli's Pizza on Pike Street in Marietta is one place to turn for pizza and other Italian-themed items.
"When travelers come through Marietta, there are very few places open," said Wayne Waldeck, CEO of Napoli's Pizza.
The Marietta Napoli's Pizza location has been open on Christmas Day for decades.
"We've found over the years that people rely on us and know we're going to be open," Waldeck said.
Fact Box
Businesses open on Christmas
Movies:
Odyssey Theatre 7 in Marietta.
Regal Cinemas, Grand Central Mall, Vienna, W.Va.
Redbox and Blockbuster kiosk rental locations at Giant Eagle and Speedway stores in Marietta.
North Hills Bowling Alley, Colegate Drive, Marietta, 3 to 9 p.m.
Restaurants/Taverns/Bars (regular hours unless noted):
Marietta Brewing Company, Front Street, Marietta, opens 7:30 p.m., (kitchen closed).
Norwood Tavern, Greene Street, Marietta, opens 5 p.m.
JP Henry's, North Parkersburg, W.Va., full menu and bar, opens 4 p.m.
Harmar Tavern, Maple Street, Marietta, (bar open, kitchen closed).
Empire Buffet, Pike Street, Marietta.
Shogun Sushi and Hibachi, Lafayette Center, Marietta, noon to 9 p.m.
Pizza:
Domino's Pizza, 415 Second St., Marietta; 2109 Washington Blvd., Belpre; 1814 Seventh St., Parkersburg; 3100 Grand Central Ave., Vienna. Open 4 to 11 p.m.
Napoli's Pizza, Pike Street, Marietta, open 3 p.m. to midnight, (pick up, pizza and wings only).
The open sign the restaurant puts out is more of a service to customers and travelers than part of a business model, said Waldeck.
"It's for local people, those who live alone, don't have Christmas dinner or want to come out and eat something," he said.
And staffers are only too happy to work Christmas Day.
"We only use volunteer help. We always have more volunteers than we actually need because people like working that day," Waldeck said.
Waldeck remembers working a Christmas shift many years ago.
"Everybody was in a good mood, laughing and jovial," said Waldeck. "It's just a happy time."
Folks who are in search of a libation on Dec. 25 can visit Harmar Tavern.
"We're always open on Christmas Day," said daytime bartender Steve Mouser. "For a lot of people, it's the only place they have to come to."
No food items from Harmar Tavern's menu will be served, but Mouser said he will cook up a ham and trimmings.
"I usually do that on my own, at no fee," Mouser said.
For a blockbusting dose of holiday entertainment, residents in and around Marietta can head to area movie theaters including Odyssey 7 Theatre in Marietta's Lafayette Center.
Three movies will premiere on Dec. 25-"Les Miserables," "Django Unchained" and "Parental Guidance."
"Les Miserables" is an adaption of the hit musical of the same name. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, in the epic story of broken dreams and unrequited love set against the backdrop of 19th-century France.
Director Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," starring Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, is the story of a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with a German-born bounty hunter.
Starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei, the comedy "Parental Guidance" tells the story of an old-school grandfather, accustomed to calling the shots, who meets his match when he and his eager-to-please wife agree to babysit their three grandchildren.
