Black Friday, Thanksgiving 2018: Doorbuster Hours

NARRAGANSETT, RI — Looking to see if you can get an early jump on Black Friday sales, or just wondering where you can run out and grab a last-minute something on Thanksgiving Day? Not so fast: Rhode Island frowns on buying stuff - or working- on some holidays, going back to the 17th century.

While stores in many parts of the country have started opening their doors to early shoppers on Thanksgiving, the Ocean State's "blue laws" prevent most retailers from doing the same.

Blue laws are the regulations applied to retailers, restaurants and other businesses that are designed to protect employees by restricting work hours on some holidays and Sundays.

For those of you who've lived here all your life, you know the drill: Restaurants, pharmacies, gas stations and small food stores can open for Thanksgiving, but chains, big-box stores and liquor stores can't. You can try a local convenience store or family owned shop in an emergency, but call ahead, because many of them have adjusted their hours, too.

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So if you're looking for a door-busting deal in Rhode Island, you have two options. You can go online and shop. (Walmart, for example, kicks off Black Friday on Wednesday at 7 p.m.) Or wait at least until midnight Thursday to get into some stores.

Here are the Friday hours for some of the bigger stores and chains. (They're all closed on Thursday):

• A.C. Moore: 7 a.m.
• Barnes & Noble: 8 a.m.
• Bed, Bath, and Beyond: 6 a.m.
• Best Buy: 1 a.m.
• Big Lots: 6 a.m.
• BJ's: 9 a.m.
• Burlington Coat Factory: 7 a.m.
• Christmas Tree Shops: 12:30 a.m.
• Dick's: 12:30 a.m.
• GameStop: 7 a.m.
• Gap: 6:30 a.m.
• Home Depot: 6 a.m.
• HomeGoods: 7 a.m.
• Kohl's: 1 a.m.
• Lowe's: 6 a.m.
• Marshall's: 7 a.m.
• Staples: 7 a.m.
• Target: 7 a.m.
• TJ Maxx: 7 a.m.
• Walmart: 1 a.m.

Got something to add? Shoot us an email: Jenna.Fisher@Patch.com

Jenna Fisher, Patch Staff, contributed to this report.

Image via Shutterstock