What Grocery Stores Are Open On Thanksgiving 2022?

"This year, it's going to be different," you may be saying to yourself as the countdown to Thanksgiving begins. Sure, there's a lot to do, but you've got it under control: You've bookmarked our ultimate Thanksgiving timeline to get you seamlessly through the next few weeks of turkey day planning. You've even already begun to brace yourself for how much more your turkey's going to cost. You've even committed to repurposing your leftover Halloween candy to make some sweet novelties to surprise and delight your guests along with the traditional pumpkin and pecan pies that you plan on making — yes, from scratch.

What could possibly go wrong? Well, there is that one immutable fact about human nature, which is that procrastinators gonna procrastinate. And even if you do plan everything out, something inevitably goes wrong. (You swear you stocked up on enough butter and heavy cream to last through New Year's.) But it's not like you can't pick up last-minute items the in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. And even if you let things go longer, you'll still be fine with our list of retailers who will — and will not — be open Thanksgiving day 2022.

Self-proclaimed to be "one of the largest food and drug retailers in the U.S." (and possibly getting a lot bigger, should a potential merger with Kroger end up happening), Albertsons operates more than 2,200 supermarkets across more than 34 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known names, including Acme, Jewel Osco, Kings, Safeway, and Shaw's.

The company has not yet published its Thanksgiving hours, but Albertsons-owned stores have been open on Thanksgiving Day in past years. Holiday Shopping Hours predicts that will be the case again for 2022, with select stores open from 6 a.m. until at least 3 p.m. However, since Albertson's has so many stores under its umbrella, we recommend inquiring at your local store the week before to confirm its Thanksgiving hours of operation.

ACME markets, which are under the Albertsons umbrella, have been open on Thanksgiving in previous years, per CT Patch, and are likely to be open on Thanksgiving once again in 2022.

Based on what ACME has done in the past, Holiday Shopping Hours predicts that you'll be able to shop at some ACME stores on Thanksgiving Day between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., but be sure to check with your local ACME store in advance. 

Regional supermarket chain Wegmans has a little over 100 stores scattered across the east coast, more than half of which are located throughout New York. Named one of Fortune's best places to work, Wegmans stores have been open on Thanksgiving in the past (via Syracuse).

Last Thanksgiving, most Wegmans stores opened as usual at 6 a.m. but closed early at 4 p.m., so to be safe you'll want to check in advance with your local store about their Thanksgiving hours. 

Texas-based H-E-B (which has about 320 stores across its home state, per ScrapeHero) will have stores open on Thanksgiving Day, according to its website, but with limited hours and services.

You can shop in person between 6 a.m. and noon, and curbside pickup will be available between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.; The pharmacy will be closed, and there will be no home delivery. As always, check with your local store in advance to see if they're towing the company line.

Michigan-based regional food retailer Meijer has 240 or so store locations, all of which are concentrated in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin (via Meijer).

According to the Meijer website, you're likely to find your local Meijer store open on Thanksgiving from 6 a.m. until midnight, but you'll want to check with your local store in advance to make sure they're sticking with the program.

The largest supermarket chain in the U.S., according to Statista, Kroger operates over 2,700 stores in 35 states across the U.S. In addition to its Kroger-bannered supermarket locations, the company operates regional grocery store chains like Ralphs, Dillons, King Soopers, and Harris Teeter.

Kroger stores will be open on Thanksgiving but will operate on reduced hours. According to the Kroger website, most locations will close by 4 p.m.,

Harris Teeter — which is owned by Kroger, as mentioned above — operates more than 250 stores in seven states and the District of Columbia, according to its website. Harris Teeter locations are generally open between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., with a handful of North Carolina stores open 24 hours (via press release).

According to Holiday Shopping Hours, most, if not all, Harris Teeter locations will be open on Thanksgiving. The outlet reports some will be closing at 2 p.m., so you should check with your local Harris Teeter before heading over to do any last-minute shopping.

In our opinion among the best grocery stores in the U.S., Hy-Vee operates more than 240 retail stores throughout the Midwest, including in the following states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (via Hy-Vee). The chain has historically encouraged each store to operate in its own way, giving managers the power to make decisions and test new employee ideas, and seemingly in keeping with that, Hy-Vee notes on its website that "store hours will change so that way our employees can spend their holiday at home with their loved ones."

The good news, however, is that most Hy-Vee locations will be open on Thanksgiving, albeit with reduced hours. Schedules for the holiday will vary from location to location, so it's best to check with your local store in advance.

Though many of Sprouts Farmers Market locations are in California, the fast-expanding grocer counts more than 370 locations across the country (via Statista). If you live within reasonable driving distance of one, then you can probably rest assured that you'll be able to pop in on Thanksgiving Day, if need be.

According to the Sprouts website, all locations will be open between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. for Thanksgiving 2022. Of course, the rule of reason still applies, which is that if you think there's any chance you might need to do some shopping on turkey day itself, it's wise to check in advance to make sure that your store is not an exception.

Whole Foods Market boasts more than 500 locations in the U.S. and U.K., so chances are you live near one. And if you need to do any day-of Thanksgiving food shopping you'll probably be able to rely on the Amazon-owned chain, per the Whole Foods website. That said, you'll want to call your local Whole Foods store before driving over, as the company explains many of its locations will be operating on modified hours.

If you're in a pickle and need to get some last-minute items Thanksgiving day Walgreens very likely has you covered. According to a statement sent to Tasting Table, most of the chain's locations will open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with reduced pharmacy hours. In addition to your standard shopping experience, Walgreens offers in-store pickup and delivery for those really pressed for time.

As always, it's wise to check your specific Walgreens location to ensure it will be open before stopping by.

Remember when most stores used to be closed on Thanksgiving Day? That's changed over the course of just a few decades, albeit not completely across the board. Some stores are traditionally are closed on Thanksgiving and seemingly have no plan to change that anytime soon, including Costco.

Costco is famously one of the better chains to work at, with employees praising it for offering a sense of job security and paid holidays (via Business Insider). In addition to getting paid on Thanksgiving, Costco employees are also gifted a turkey from the chain.

It wasn't all that long ago that Sam's Club hiked up its membership prices for the first time in a decade. Customers may have taken it hard as they believed it would never happen (Talkspace explains denial is a common defense mechanism, after all), but one thing that Sam's Club members can still rely on is that they will need to get their Sam's Club-related Thanksgiving ducks in a row before Thanksgiving Day — because Sam's Club won't be open for last-minute shopping (or any shopping).

Yet another dyed-in-the-wool, not-gonna-open-on-Thanksgiving-Day stalwart is BJ's Wholesale Club.

As the company wrote in a recent press release, the wholesale chain will be closed for the 16th year in a row. BJ's executive vice president and chief operations officer Jeff Desroches explained, "Our team members demonstrate hard work and dedication day in and day out, to both our members and communities. So as the holiday season approaches, it's important for them to be able to spend well-deserved time off with family and loved ones."

Sorry, Gen Z, but there will be no Trader Joe's meet-ups on Thanksgiving Day, at least not in 2022 (and possibly not ever).

Of course, that also means anyone who swears by TJ's will have to hit up their local outpost before 9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, per Club Trader Joe's if they're planning on serving up some of Trader Joe's pre-made Thanksgiving foods like its cornbread stuffing, fresh cranberry sauce, or green bean casserole bites. And if you're flying solo on Thanksgiving there is always the grocery chain's love-it-or-hate-it Gobbler Quesadilla or its turkey and sweet potato burrito, just make sure you swing by a few days in advance if there are any must-have TJ's items on your Thanksgiving grocery list.

Per the FAQ bot on the Publix website, the grocery chain will not be open on Thanksgiving 2022. Of course, this won't come as a big surprise to devoted Publix shoppers, as the chain has never, in its 94 years of existence, been open on Thanksgiving Day (via The Pioneer Woman).

The chain is also not open on Christmas or Easter and closes early Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. The statement given by the FAQ bot on the topic explained Publix "value[s] our associates and want[s] to provide them time around the holidays to spend with their loved ones."

Another grocery store whose long-time regulars might already know is never open on Thanksgiving Day is the German-based discount grocer, Aldi.

In 2021, superfan Aldi Reviewer pointed out that the company gives that day to employees to be with family, but the day before (i.e., Wednesday) is "just another day" at Aldi. Or, if you're a customer, just another shopping day, only perhaps somewhat busier.

Last-minute shoppers may have fond memories of Thanksgiving Day trips to Target from years gone by, as CNN Business reports the chain has historically been open on the holiday, pretty much across the board. But not anymore: Target closed for Thanksgiving Day in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and apparently employees were so happy to be able to stay home with their families that day that Target's CEO Brian Cornell decided to make the "temporary measure" the "new standard" in 2021. To which we say to all the last-minute shoppers out there, plan accordingly.

Remember when you ran out of chicken stock while you were making your turkey gravy and you could simply send your partner to Walmart to pick up a liter or two? Well, hold onto that memory because Walmart's CEO John Furner told the "TODAY Show" that its practice of being open on Thanksgiving is a "thing of the past," (via Twitter).

If Walmart's still your go-to, that means you'll need to think about a backup this year for any last-minute turkey day needs. Happy prepping!