Store schedules vary

As Thanksgiving nears, local vendors are preparing for the holiday sales that come with the extended weekend.
Retailers like Family Dollar and Wal-Mart will have deals and hours available Thursday and Friday, but some local businesses will only open one of the two now-typical sale days.
Wal-Mart maintains its 24-hour schedule on Thanksgiving, setting its special sale from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday. Assistant manager Richard Berger said 140 employees will be on staff for the sale.
The store hasn’t closed on either day for some time, he added.
“I don’t believe the store has been closed on either day,” said Berger. “The older store would have closed but the new store doesn’t.”
There will be sales on specific items based on what is sent to the Portland store. History tells Berger the major items on wish lists will be toys and electronics.
During Thanksgiving, if employees choose to go home for dinner on their lunch break, they can, but Berger said the store will prepare a meal as well.
Store manager Nolan Jones of Family Dollar said there will be sales on items like milk and eggs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Black Friday.
Jones and four other employees will work both days. He’s been with the store for seven years and having holidays off just doesn’t happen anymore, he said.
“(We) used to close on Christmas and Easter but not anymore,” said Jones. “Not sure with the (Dollar Tree) acquisition if holidays we’ll get off.”
Family Dollar employees will be able to alternate breaks to go eat with their families.
While Berger said Wal-Mart is anticipating heavy traffic, Jones expects the same amount of customers as usual, if not slightly fewer.
Some stores like Sharlette's Fudgery & Candies have never been open for Thanksgiving but sometimes are available by appointment on Black Friday.
Owner Sharlette Cole said she doesn’t open for Thanksgiving and rarely the day after because  most people are at home with their families. She doesn’t see a change in customer traffic until Thanksgiving is over.
“It’s a roller coaster ride,” she said. “You never know what’s going on this time of year.”
And there are some businesses that are open one of the two big sale days.
Next door to Sharlette’s Fudgery is The Glass Bonsai, owned by Steve Zielinski, which opens its doors on Black Friday but not Thanksgiving.
The glass-cutting shop that also sells coffee, tea and spices has been at its current location for 12 years. Its Black Friday hours will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The only sales he will have during that day will be on coffee beans. Most years, he does not notice if his sales on Black Friday increase.
But he is always open that Friday. He only closes his business on national holidays and religious holidays.
The customer traffic on Black Friday varies each year, he said. The mornings may be busy or the rush could begin later in the day.
“Most people do not shop locally downtown on (Black Friday),” he said. “They leave town or hit the Wal-Marts,” Zielinski said.