Mall of America Will Close Thanksgiving Day

The Mall of America (Bloomington, Minn.) announced that it will close down many of its operations on Thanksgiving Day and would like its retailers to follow suit, though they do have the choice to stay open.

According to Star Tribune, this is a change from recent years when the mall was open on the holiday and marks the first time that the mall will be closing down its movie theaters and Nickelodeon Universe (New York) ever in its 24-year history. Mall officials expect the traffic over the three-day period to be similar to what it had been in recent years over the four-day period including Thanksgiving Day.

“By closing on Thanksgiving, we’re confident we’ll still get those strong numbers throughout the Black Friday weekend,” said Jill Renslow, the mall’s senior vp of marketing and business development.