Two Idaho Grocery Store Brands to Close All Locations on Thanksgiving Day

It’s like we blinked and 2023 is almost over. Right now, grocery stores across the Boise area are full of Halloween candy and other spooky treats. It won’t be long before they turn their attention toward getting shoppers ready for the biggest meal of the year! 

When you picture a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, what do you see? Probably family gathered around the table, reflecting on all the things they have to be grateful for and laughing over stories they’re sharing. At the center of it is a picture-perfect Thanksgiving meal: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie…the whole nine yards. 

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That meal didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Somewhere behind the scenes, your family’s lead chef spent hours in the kitchen prepping, chopping, baking, roasting and deep down hoping that they didn’t forget a critical ingredient. That’s a lot of pressure! 

Luckily, most grocery store chains in the Boise area are open in the morning on Thanksgiving Day and stay open through mid-afternoon to help cover those emergencies. Most, but not all. 

Two major grocery store chains have confirmed that they’ll be closed on Thanksgiving Day. 

Walmart

In the past Walmart gave shoppers just enough time to dust off that last helping of pumpkin pie before opening their doors for Early Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving evening. However, they’ve pivoted away from being at the center of the bargain-hunting chaos. Walmart’s higher-ups decided to not open their stores on Thanksgiving in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Pandemic or no-pandemic, it was a decision that was well-received by employees. Walmart remained closed on Thanksgiving Day 2021 and 2022, too. Their CEO, John Furner, confirmed they’ll be doing the same in 2023 to allow their associates to spend time with their families. 

While no one NEEDS to be shopping for big-screen smart TVs or PlayStation 5s on Thanksgiving, Walmart is an extremely popular grocery shopping destination in the Treasure Valley. If it’s your grocery store of choice and the one closest to your home, you may want to have Plan B in mind in case you forget the gravy, cranberry sauce or butter. 

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s only has two locations in Idaho, both in the Treasure Valley. We imagine that doing the bulk of your Thanksgiving shopping would be rather pricy but you may want to pick up a few specialty items like spiced cider, caramel or fall-colored flowers for a centerpiece. If you do, make sure you do that in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. 

Trader Joe’s is sticking by their decades-long tradition of being closed on Thanksgiving Day. 

What Other Stores Are Closed on Thanksgiving?

Many retailers are yet to release their Thanksgiving and Black Friday hours for 2023, but based on last year here’s a glimpse at what stores may be closed (or open, for that matter) on Turkey Day.