The Embarcadero isn't seeing the crowds that it's used to early Wednesday night.

The rain seems to have swayed some people to switch up their plans for New Year's Eve, but lots of other people remained positive, hoping the rain won't signal a soggy start to the New Year.

Crews put up barricades along the Embarcadero for the guests that were expected to arrive for the fireworks show. While the streets were pretty empty, nothing was going to stop one pair from partying the night away.

"We're living it up," said Kim Alcaro & Mai Tai. "It's New Year's Eve. It's my birthday, and we're just hanging out. We're going to bar hop around neighborhoods. We're just winging it."

It's not just the streets that were empty. Some of the businesses were also light on customers. At High Dive Bar, they had a few empty tables earlier in the night.

"We're definitely expecting it to be busier later," employee Megan Casella said. "It's been a little bit of a more quiet start, but I think that people are just starting to get out for the night. We started to see a few groups come out. Everyone is in their sequins, their new year stuff. It's starting to pick up, definitely."

New Year's Eve is one of the nights throughout the year some businesses along the Embarcadero bank on having lively crowds. Employees at High Dive are staying positive that more people will come in as it gets closer to midnight.

"It's definitely something we look forward to," said Casella. "We're prepared for it to be super busy. If it's not, that's OK."

Michael Palma was out for an early nightcap, but he said, rain or shine, there's no way he's sticking around for the fireworks.

"Two years ago, we were down here celebrating fireworks, but couldn't get a ride out of here, so we're going to go home," Palma said.

For Kim and Mai, the night is still young, and they plan on welcoming 2026 with hopefully thousands of others tonight.

"The rain never stopped me, and it's not going to stop me now," they said. "We're just going to keep going. We're just going to keep going."