Thanksgiving Store Hours: What's Open, Closed In Lake Forest

LAKE FOREST, IL — For most, Thanksgiving offers a chance to gather with friends and families and consider all the reasons to be grateful. It is also one of the year's busiest times for traveling and the eve of the biggest shopping day of the year.

But not everyone will have the day off. In addition to those doing essential work — like firefighters, police, transit workers and transportation security agents — many employees of large corporate retailers will be away from their families on Turkey Day to give consumers a chance to pick up some last-minute items or get a head start on their holiday shopping.

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In Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, many businesses plan special holiday hours during Thanksgiving week. Most government offices will be closed and the refuse collection schedule will be adjusted. Find out below what's going to be open and what's going to be closed for the holiday this year.

Post Office: Post offices are closed on Thanksgiving but will resume operations on Friday.

City Hall: City Hall and administrative offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, and Friday, Nov. 29.

Public Libraries: The Lake Forest Library will close at 5 p.m. on Nov. 27 and remain closed all day Nov. 28. The Lake Bluff Public Library will be closed all day on Nov. 28.

Garbage Collection: Refuse will be collected one day late due to the holiday. Residents with Thursday collection will receive service on Friday, and normal Friday collection will take place on Saturday.

Banks: Most major banks are closed on Thanksgiving Day, and most will open on Friday. Call your branch to verify.

Schools: Public and private schools in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff will be closed Nov. 27 to Nov. 29.

Park Districts: The Lake Forest Parks and Recreation registration office will be closed Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. The fitness center will be open from 6 a.m. to noon on Nov. 28, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 29, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 30 and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 1. The Lake Bluff Park District's fitness center will be open from 7 a.m. to noon on Nov. 28.

Fun Run: The 30th Annual Tim Plum Thanksgiving Day Run is organized by the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Running Club. The free event includes 5k and 10k fun runs with free mugs, coffee, treats and more. Organizers will be collecting non-perishable food items or donations for the food pantry. It begins at 8 a.m. at the West Lake Forest train station.

Tree Lighting: Lake Forest is holding its 35th annual tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 29. Festivities start at 1 p.m. with a holiday movie at Gorton Community Center and continue at Market Square at 3 p.m. with arts, crafts and ice sculpting. There will be a visit from Santa, caroling and dancing ahead of the 5 p.m.. tree lighting.

Retailers: Nearly 100 national and regional retailers have announced plans to close on Thanksgiving Day. In a recent survey, 72 percent of consumers believe stores should be closed for the holiday, according to a website that tracks Black Friday sales.

Retailers giving their employees the day off include: Abt Electronics, Ace Hardware, Costco, Crate and Barrel , Home Depot, IKEA, Lowe's, Marshalls, Nordstrom, Petco and T.J. Maxx.

Those choosing to stay open and have employees work on Thanksgiving include: Best Buy, CVS, DSW, GameStop, Macy's, Old Navy, Sears, Target, Walgreens and Walmart.

As for Thanksgiving and Black Friday hours north suburban shopping centers:

• Hawthorn Mall will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thanksgiving and from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.
• Northbrook Court will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday.
• Westfield Old Orchard's Thanksgiving hours run from 6 p.m. to midnight, and on Black Friday it is scheduled to open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Woodfield Mall will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight on Thanksgiving and from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Black Friday.

Grocery store hours in and around Lake Forest and Lake Bluff:

• Aldi: Closed
• Heinen's: Closed
• Foodstuffs: Closed
• Trader Joe's: Closed
• Anton's Fruit Ranch, 8:30 a.m. - noon (Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
• Binny's, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (All locations.)
• CVS, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Pharmacy closed.)
• Grand Food Center. 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• Jewel-Osco, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. (Hours vary by location)
• Mariano's, 6 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Pharmacy closed.)
• Sunset Foods, 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Target, 5 p.m. - 1 a.m.
• The Fresh Market, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Whole Foods Market, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

More:
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Thanksgiving 2019 Store Closures In Illinois
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