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These Virginia malls will be closed for Thanksgiving

Posted at 4:08 PM, Oct 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-13 16:08:07-04

RICHMOND, Va. — Some retailers are beginning to push back on the recent trend of opening up on Thanksgiving to help shoppers beat the Black Friday rush.

CBL & Associates Properties, which owns several Virginia malls, announced this week its malls would remain closed for the holiday.

That includes Southpark Mall in Colonial Heights.

“Over the last few years, we’ve watched as the magic of Black Friday has been diminished by an earlier start to the holiday shopping season. Gone are the days of waking before dawn to hunt for deals and doorbusters. Well, not this year,” company president Stephen Lebovitz said. “We’re happy to announce that our malls will be closed this year on Thanksgiving and will open for Black Friday at 6 a.m.

Other Virginia malls owned by CBL & Associates Properties include:

New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg

Valley View Mall in Roanoke

River Ridge Mall in Lynchburg

Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake

“We want you to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends and come fresh and excited to spend Black Friday with us,” he continued. “So enjoy that extra plate of pie at dinner, take a long afternoon nap, set your alarm and wake up with us to bring back the magic of Black Friday.”

A spokesperson for Regency Square in Henrico County said while the mall would not open on Thanksgiving, individual retailers can choose to open if they want to start Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving.

Mall of America will be closed on Thanksgiving (sorta)

The most famous mall in America is giving its workers Thanksgiving Day off.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean no shopping will take place at Mall of America on Turkey Day.

The mall announced Wednesday that it will close its operations — which include a movie theater and the amusement park Nickelodeon Universe — on November 24.

That means 1,200 employees who work for the mall will be able to spend the day leisurely eating turkey with their families.

“We are excited to give this day back to our employees,” said Jill Renslow, senior vice president of marketing and new business development for Mall of America.

But some stores could choose to open. The mall is leaving it up to its 500-plus store owners on whether they want to open their doors to bargain-seeking shoppers on the holiday.

“We had tenants with tears of joy that they could share the news with their employees,” said Renslow on the reaction to the announcement this morning. “We have a lot of specialty retailers that have a smaller staff, and for them it’s a huge sense of relief.”

There are more than 15,000 people who work at the mall who could potentially get the day off.

Shopping creep had slowly been invading the Minnesota shopping behemoth over the years. In 2012, it opened its doors at midnight. A year later it opened at 8:00 p.m. Last year, it opened at 6:00 p.m.

Not only does giving the holiday off mean workers get to spend the day with their families, it also allows stores more time to get ready for one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

“We can shift the focus to Black Friday,” said Renslow. “To have that energy right at 5 in the morning and really bring that enthusiasm back.”

While no stores have yet confirmed they will be open on Thanksgiving, the mall will provide some support staff if that occurs.

The mall will still host the Walk to End Hunger on Thanksgiving morning.

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