TARGET STAYING CLOSED ON THANKSGIVING
Plus updates on car washes, Ikea, Walmart’s changes
Target announced Wednesday that its stores will stay closed on Thanksgiving, repeating its practice from the past several years.
“Keeping our stores closed on Thanksgiving is possible because we've built our team — and Target's strong business model — to deliver on our guests' holiday wishes both within and well beyond store hours,” Target CEO Brian Cornell wrote in a blog post.
Its website and app will be open for business.
Stores will reopen at most locations at 6 a.m. on
Black Friday.
Mediterranean chain opening new restaurants
Panini Kabob Grill is bringing its marinated, flame-grilled meats, salads and wraps to more San Diego tummies starting next week.
“With strong growth and increasing demand over the years, we've realized that our mouthwatering grilled chicken kabobs have become a craving that just can't be ignored,” the restaurant chain says on its website.
The company, founded in 1997, is adding three locations across the county, this year and next.
Its Westfield UTC restaurant is scheduled to open before the end of this year. The other two, planned for next year, are heading to Escondido and a mixed-used, high-rise development by Petco Park.
These openings double the Mediterranean chain's footprint in San Diego County. It still has far fewer restaurants locally than competitor Luna Grill, with about 15 locations countywide.
Walmart aims to make its stores feel calmer
Ever feel like the bigbox retail experience is a little much? The music, the displays, the glaring lights.
Walmart is making a change to its stores nationwide starting Friday in an attempt to cater to shoppers who need or desire a calmer environment.
From 8 to 10 a.m. daily, all stores will have: • dimmed lights
• the screens of electronics switched to a nonmoving image
• no ambient radio On its website, Walmart said it had tested out its sensory-friendly environment on Saturdays. “The feedback of the pilot program was overwhelmingly positive. These changes may have seemed small to some, but for others they transformed the shopping experience. Our biggest piece of feedback? Keep it going!”
The company explained that it's trying to make its stores more welcoming to
people with autism. It quoted the mother of a child with autism, who said she appreciates the changes.
Autism and related disorders are increasingly common. A study last year found that about 100 in 10,000 children worldwide have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, the Autism Speaks nonprofit reported. It added, “this is an increase from the 2012 global prevalence report which found that 62 in 10,000 children were autistic.”
Walmart’s move harks back to the low-traffic hours some grocery and big-box stores instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic, where elderly shoppers and those with compromised immune systems could enter stores early in the day, before the aisles filled up.
Competition mounts for your car wash dollar
Opening soon near you: a new car wash.
Between Soapy Joe’s Car Wash, Super Star Car Wash and a mobile detailer called Pronto Wash Mobile, San Diego County is getting at least nine new car washes.