Stores hope you’ll eat up Thanksgiving Day sales

The turkey’s been eaten and the table cleared. What do you do next? Shop!

At least that’s what some major retailers are hoping. This year, Macy’s, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, getting a head start on Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday-shopping season.

The stores are following the lead of chains such as Toys “R” Us and Target, which opened on Thanksgiving night last year. But don’t expect smaller, local retailers in Central Florida to follow the trend, which so far has been mostly limited to national chains.

Don Sexton said he plans to keep his Downeast store on Park Avenue in Winter Park closed all day

Thanksgiving.

“We have another life besides this store,” said Sexton, whose store sells clothing and gifts. “It just really would notwork for mystoreandthe clientele I have.”

Elliott Leavitt, who owns Swalstead Jewelers in downtown Orlando, agrees.

“This is a family business that’s been in business 104 years, and family does come first,” he said.

In the past, many chain stores typically opened between 4 and 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

But with retailers trying to outdo one another to snatch up scarce consumer dollars, Black Friday hours have crept earlier and earlier — until they’re not actually on Friday anymore.

“I think it’s great,” said Jolly Jensen, 68, of Orlando, who was shopping at Macy’s in Orlando Fashion Square on Tuesday. After their big dinner, she said, “a lot of people, they just want to shop.”

But Lamia Elazzouzi rolled her eyes when told about the new hours.

“Give me a break,” said Elazzouzi, 36, a stay-at-home mom from Orlando. “It’s one day for everyone to relax from shopping.”

Last year, J.C. Penney opened at the more traditional hour of 6 a.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving. But the department-store chain

“Give me a break. It’s one day for everyone to relax from shopping.”