Amid Controversy, Some Stores Open Thanksgiving Day [UPDATE]

Update 1:50 p.m.:

From an article published by Plainview Patch on Long Island on Wednesday:

Some consumers and others complain that the trend [in Thanksgiving store openings] is disturbing because it forces some workers and large numbers of family members to skip out on the national holiday devoted to giving thanks. Some employees have leveled criticism in the form of petitions, USA Today reported.

For the second year in a row, employees of retailers including Target, Walmart and Toys R Us have started or signed petitions on Change.org calling for Thanksgiving Day off.

Not everyone is complaining. A recent survey by Deloitte showed 23 percent plan to shop in stores on Thanksgiving Day - up from 17 percent in last year's survey, according to a report in Reuters. Financial data on the impact of Thanksgiving openings is elusive, but a Deloitte executive said it is likely that sales made that day merely shift spending, not create more spending.

Original article:

If you have a black belt in Black Friday shopping, listen up: Some area big-box retailers are gearing up to sell to bargain hunters even earlier this year—starting on Thanksgiving Day.

Last week, Walmart announced that it would open its doors at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22, and offer holiday doorbusters while supplies last. These include deals on TVs, iPads, an electric scooter for $79 and a steam mop for $39.

Not to be outdone, Target and Best Buy are also planning all-out holiday shopping assaults.

Target's deals begin at 9 p.m. According to an ad leaked online, the best deals will be for TVs, a Nook, a Nikon camera and an XBOX 360 Kinect bundle.

At Best Buy, doors open at midnight. Doorbusters include deals on TVs, phones and Samsung laptop bundles.

P.C. Richard & Son, a metropolitan New York electronics and appliances retailer with a store in Norwalk, has vociferously rejected opening its store on Thanksgiving Day and will remain shut till Friday morning.

"It is our opinion that retailers who choose to open on Thanksgiving Day or night show now respect to their employees or families, and are in total disrespect of family values in the United States of America," the retailer said in a statement reprinted on its Facebook page.

Hearst newspapers, including the Stamford Advocate, have published a report on the Thanksgiving-opening controversy (mentioning that P.C. Richard will open its stores at 4 a.m. Friday), and Patch's Susan Schoenberger has commented on it in an opinion piece, concluding:

Consumers can decide whether or not they want to support a move that seems to lead inevitably to mega sales that coincide with the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving morning. If you don't think Walmart should be opening on Thanksgiving night, don't shop there.

In and around Darien, here are some stores open for all or part of the day (for a full list of openings and closings on Thanksgiving Weekend, click here).

RESTAURANTS OPEN:

• Post Corner Pizza — Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for lunch and dinner on Thanksgiving Day

• Darien Social — Bar open 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, with very limited food.

PHARMACIES:

• CVS Pharmacy — Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day; normal hours on other days.
  

• Grieb's Pharmacy — Closes early on Wednesday (5 p.m. rather than 7 p.m.), open Thanksgiving Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Walgreens — Open Thanksgiving day from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the pharmacy will be closed. The nearest Walgreens 24-hour pharmacy is at 1333 E. Putnam Ave. (near the intersection with Sound Beach Ave.) in the Riverside section of Greenwich — (203) 637-1496.

GROCERY STORES:

• Stop & Shop — Both Stop & Shop in Noroton Heights and at Goodwives Shopping Center will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

• Trader Joe's — The store will be closed Thanksgiving Day. Otherwise, store hours Wednesday through Sunday won't change.

• Whole Foods Market — Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, normal hours on other days.

COFFEE SHOPS:

• Dunkin Donuts — Open on Thanksgiving Day with no change in hours at all: Dunkin Donuts is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

• EspressoNEAT — open 7 a.m. to noon Thanksgiving Day, normal hours on other days (7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends)

• Starbucks Coffee — open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, normal hours on other days.

OTHER STORES:

• Darien Station Variety — open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, normal hours on other days.

Walmart will offer its biggest deals from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. The store will offer three items at low prices—an iPad, a TV and a Blu-ray player. If the store runs out, you can still buy them at discounted prices but you must register for them online by midnight and have them delivered to your local store.

According to TheBlackFriday.com, several other stores will also have doorbuster sales on Thursday night or at midnight on Friday, including Kohl's. 

For the early morning traditionalists, some stores will open at 4 a.m. with special sales. If you want to keep up with all of the Black Friday deals, you can check your favorite retailers' Facebook pages. 

Costco in Norwalk, just over the Darien line, will be closed all day on Thanksgiving. Officially, the store reopens at 10 a.m. on Friday, but local managers said they hope to open the Norwalk Costco somewhat earlier.

Want to avoid the holiday shopping mega-crowds altogether? Look for Cyber Monday deals on Nov. 26 or visit your local mom-and-pop retailers on Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24.

• Target ad

• Best Buy ad

• Walmart ad

Darien Patch Editor David Gurliacci contributed to this report.