Mall Of America To Close On Thanksgiving

Mall of America, the nation’s largest shopping mall, will be closed on Thanksgiving this year.

The popular retail center has been open on the turkey feast since 2012. But the mall will close in an effort to give the holiday back to the 15,000 employees to spend time with their families.

The mall will re-open for Black Friday at 5 a.m., the day after Thanksgiving.

Given its size and status, the move could inspire other stores to follow suit.

Mall of America said some of its tenants may choose to be open on Thanksgiving. So it will have security and other key personnel on duty to ensure smooth operations. The mall will update its website at www.mallofamerica.com as these openings become announced.

Mall of America will continue to host Walk to End Hunger on Thanksgiving morning, a community event the mall has hosted for eight years that helps provide more than one-million meals to Twin Cities residents in need, according to a company press release.

The Friday after Thanksgiving had long been the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season. But over the past several years, Thanksgiving has become the new tradition.