It's the day before Thanksgiving, and Austinites are either busy hitting the road or getting ready to stuff the turkey. This year, however, we have some new insight into how we're doing all of this holiday planning: Google has released the most searched-for terms on Google Maps around Thanksgiving last year. Among the top three searches for today, Thanksgiving Eve, are "pie shop" and "liquor store."
It makes sense, since you need booze and pie to make it through the holiday. But also in that top three? "Ham Shop."
Ham shop?
"When you think of Thanksgiving, you think of Turkey. But people were searching for things like 'Ham Shop' the day before Thanksgiving," says LaToya Drake with Google Trends. People must be looking for a Plan B in case of #turkeyfail.
"Turkey gets a bad rap," Drake says.
Once Thanksgiving gets under way, here in Austin we turn to more material pursuits. Google says Austinites looked for “outlet mall,” “stadium,” “department store” "and "outdoor sports store." Google says Austin seems to have more shopping-related searches than other cities.
Curious what could be the nearest "Ham Shop" near our studios at KUT, I punched in a search on Google Maps. Turns out it's the Texas Honey Ham Company in West Lake Hills. And this being an Austin "Ham Shop," you'll be happy to know they serve breakfast tacos, too.
