A local sports bar already has a packed house to watch the Detroit Lions in an American Thanksgiving Day match-up. 

John Max Sports & Wings on Dougall Avenue already has a full reservation list, and will not be accepting walk-in’s during the game today. 

The Lions, who are currently 10-1 on the season, will welcome the Chicago Bears to Ford Field today, with kick-off at 12:30 p.m.

James, a manager at John Max, says the restaurant started accepting reservations almost 10 weeks ago for this specific game, with the reservation list hitting full capacity last week. Despite a full list, many local residents have joined the waiting list in hopes of getting a seat.

He says the restaurant recently added new TV’s, and will be fully equipped and prepared for all fans to have a view of the game. 

“We added some new TV’s in a couple months ago, new HD, high definition 70 inch TV’s at the bar as well. And it’s been a hit. Every TV will be the Lions game.”

He says it’s going to be a packed house, and a good time.

“Every year this has been a tradition at the restaurant where we expect big crowds for the Lions Thanksgiving Thursday game. And so we started taking reservations around 10 weeks ago, and it started to fill up, we probably filled the restaurant entirely a week ago before the game.”

James says while they may not have seats available, they do offer take out, and are offering a 2-for-1 wings special.

“All you’ve got to do is call the restaurant and then place your order. There’s not limit on it as well, order as many 2-for-1 orders as you want. And our kitchen is great, they’ll have it ready for you and fired out. And if you want to call ahead of time too, our restaurant opens at 11 [a.m.], the game starts around 12:15 [p.m.] to 12:30 [p.m.], so definitely recommend to call right when the restaurant opens.”

The restaurant can seat between 175 to 200 people. 

The Bears and Lions have been division rivals since 1933 and have usually met twice a season since the Lions franchise began.