"It's bittersweet, obviously you miss out on the opportunity to be with your family, but then you have the opportunity to make somebody else's family feel special," explained Justin Quinn, a server and bartender at Dolce.
There wasn't an empty seat for their Thanksgiving buffet. It featured pasta, broccoli rabe, traditional sides, and of course turkey.
"We just had this little guy last year, most of our family lives outside of the area. Traveling is tough with a baby so we thought we'd do something festive closer to home," explained Heather Hughes and Robert Hoffman of Philadelphia.
Turkey dinner was reservation only. They fully booked up and people came ready to eat.
"We went through the buffet line. It was really good -- salmon, turkey, stuffing. The dessert bar was a big treat for the guys," said Jon Perry, an assistant basketball coach for the United States Naval Academy.
The men's basketball team is in town for the weekend to play in the Cathedral Classic at the University of Pennsylvania.
Thanksgiving is about tradition, and for some, the tradition is as simple as being together around a dinner table.
"I think it's a time for us just to come together as our team family. We're obviously thinking of our loved ones, but it's a time for us to build our chemistry and really share what we're grateful for," noted Perry.
No matter where you're celebrating the holiday or who you are celebrating with, there's always a reason to be thankful.
"It's the Naval Academy, these guys are going to be future officers in the Marine Corps or United States Navy eventually and serve our country, so they're sacrificing a lot and we need to be really grateful for their commitment and what they're doing every day," Perry said.