Pat Cozad helps straighten forks and wine glasses on linen-covered table tops in the cozy dining room at Woodbridge Inn Steakhouse. The holiday decorations are illuminated in the softly lit room, and ribbon-wrapped pine branches decorate the window tops and entry ways.

Woodbridge Inn is quiet at 5 p.m., its opening hour. Only a few sit at the bar, which is also warm and decorated with elaborate Christmas trees. But as the hour passes, nearly every table fills with groups celebrating the holidays and those who thought it was a good night to go out for a nice dinner.