It’s no doubt Thanksgiving has always been about feasts and family get-togethers. But owing to some unfulfilled tasks or feeling the need to get some early Christmas shopping done, some people have to go shopping on this holiday. While increasing numbers of businesses opt to stay closed on Thanksgiving in order to enable their workers to spend time with their families, a number of them stay in business on this day albeit on limited schedules. Here’s a detailed list of all the stores that were operational during Thanksgiving 2024, so you know what to expect on holidays.
Grocery Stores
- Kroger: At a number of locations, Kroger was operational on the day of thanksgiving. Such outlets tended to remain on a leaner schedule than usual, that is, they conversely opened earlier but also closed earlier. Opening and closing times are usually before and after noon respectively. In such cases, understanding the stores’ timings is ideal.
- Meijer: Remaining open from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Meijer had enough time across all of its stores for shoppers to get the last-second grocery items.
- Safeway: Wherever applicable, the hours of operation at the stores did not span the full duration of the day. As the stores and the customers were encouraged to check-in with their nearest Safeway.
- Sprouts Farmers Market: Their operating hours survived on the upper side of the limit, 7 a.m., but still catered to their customers: supermarkets focused on specialty items from fresh produce to other goods until they closed at 2 in the afternoon.
- Whole Foods: A majority of Whole Foods’s stores, however, saw a gentler change: opened at seven, closed one hour after noon, or to be more specific, the company had modified the schedule to suit the demand of its customers.
- Harris Teeter: The hours remained constant across most stores – all of them opened at 6 and closed at 2 hence making it catered to most early shoppers.
- H-E-B: As a routine, stores affiliated with the Texas-based chain H-E-B were compliant with set times and opened at the crack of dawn that is 6 in the morning, they were expected to close by noon along with pharmacies.
- Stop & Shop: However, there were a few exceptions, in fact there are locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island which did not open at 7 am and close at 3 pm in other specific states.
Retail Stores
- Dollar General: Dollar General’s Marketplace operations were limited to a single window of people shopping for essential household products modestly, opening at 10 am.
- Family Dollar: YD outlets, on the other hand, used to close at the ungodly hour of 9 pm by virtue of being in close proximity with such a late opening location.
- Big Lots: Instead, Big Lots would work until 2 am and would open at 7 am thereby catering to both early(comers) and late shoppers.
- Bass Pro Shops: Generally start business from 9am until 6 pm giving holiday shoppers a chance to shop even during the off peak days.
- Cabela’s: For most Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops combined, opening hours were also observed to be between 9 am and 6 pm.
Convenience Stores and Pharmacies
- CVS: Most, but not all, operated between 9am and 2pm; the remaining regular CVS hours were maintained at some of the 24-hour stores. It should be kept in mind that usually the pharmacy services are occupied.
- Walgreens: Although a few of its stores including several 24-hour ones complied with mostly all other stores closed, instruction was received from the headquarters to all stores. Customers were told to contact their local pharmacy for hours.
- Wawa: Most stores were open round the clock ensuring that anyone traveling and otherwise could access supplies with round the clock service.
Coffee Shops, and Restaurants
- Starbucks: Stores many engaged people opening but times of operating varied of each branch considerably. Contacting stores or check for local information was obviously advocated.
- Cracker Barrel: Available during normal times which is good news since not everyone is keen to cook and order which is healthier.
- Denny’s: Most of this Denny’s with the full menu remained open on the day of turkey, Thanksgiving 2005 as it is popularly known, since it is known to remain open all day every day.
- Waffle House: Another restaurant extended the service to include the other one that complemented the first one with over fifty locations and services, maintaining twenty-four-hour operations.
Planning Ahead
It is important to keep in mind that the above information pertains to the overall working hours of most American businesses throughout the Thanksgiving period, subsequent to contact being made with the management for a variety of reasons.
Factors including, but not limited to, local rules, staff personnel and any internal company processes or policies are determinants of these decisions. Thus, for future holidays, consider the following guidance:
- Check in Advance: It is paramount to guarantee the store’s operating hours by checking the company’s website or calling them up.
- Plan Ahead: Try and do all your important shopping before the holiday to prevent the inconvenience of permission of closed stores.
- Use Other Options: Convenience stores _and pharmacies for sheer reason of the circumstance are more likely to be opened when there is a need than normal shops.
Conclusion
Different retailers and geographical locations have different opening hours for Thanksgiving. There are a few stores which remain open on Thanksgiving but have smaller hours of operation while others prefer closing down altogether, allowing their employees to be Americans and spend time with their families. Being prepared and understanding such things assists people to have an easier time during the chaos that is holiday time.
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