Mass. Warns Whole Foods on Thanksgiving

AP ^ | 11/19/5

[SmithL]

BOSTON -- There'll be no last-minute shopping for turkeys or trimmings on Thanksgiving Day in Massachusetts.

The state has warned the upscale Whole Foods supermarket chain that it will risk criminal charges under the state's centuries-old "blue laws" if it goes ahead with plans to open on the holiday.

The office of Attorney General Thomas Reilly issued a legal opinion after officials at a Whole Foods competitor, Shaw's Supermarkets, wrote him a letter asking him to block the opening, The Boston Globe reported.

David Lannon, president of Whole Foods Market's North Atlantic Region, said the chain has scrapped the Thanksgiving openings at its 14 state stores.

"We're not going to break the law, he said. "If the blue law says we'll have to be closed, we have to be closed."

Many of the state's Puritan-era blue laws, passed in the 1600s to keep colonists at home or in church on Sundays, have been repealed, such as a ban of liquor sales on Sundays

[SmithL]

Mass is going back to the bad-old-days of back-alley poultry.

[FerdieMurphy]

But in Massachewsets it's okay to be open on Christmas Day.

[rightwinggoth]

Must take that pilgrim's heritage awfully seriously...

[andyk]

officials at a Whole Foods competitor, Shaw's Supermarkets, wrote him a letter asking him to block the opening

If it's already against the law, why would any opening have to be "blocked"? If they open, file charges. Shaw's is acting really childishly.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

I thought Blue laws were only on Sunday.

[TomGuy]

Progessive Massachusetts still has 'blue laws'?

Wow, I didn't know any state still had them.

[TXBubba]

Isn't Thanksgiving on Thursday? Have I missed a change to the calendar?

[freekitty]

"I thought Blue laws were only on Sunday."

I thought so too.

[Radix]

I have been to Shaw's, and I have been to Whole Foods.

The folks at Shaws may think that they are competitors, but they're fooling themselves. Totally different class of retailing going on at the two enterprises.

[VOA]

Time for groceries in the bordering states to set up some semis loaded
with Turkey Day goodies...just outside the Mass. state line.

[SmithL]

But one that remains in effect requires all stores, except convenience stores and gas stations, to close on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

What silliness.

[sargon]

"We're not going to break the law, he said. "If the blue law says we'll have to be closed, we have to be closed."

This is typical abject Massachusetts submission to an arbitrary and tyrannical law.

This is just the kind of authoritarian crap which should be openly defied.

[chet_in_ny]

Bergen County, New Jersey (which includes Paramus- the largest shopping mecca in the U.S.) doesn't allow retail sales on Sundays.

[Mark was here]

This is all about using the government to limit the competition. This is the basic reason companies "donate" to politicians.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

If you can not buy food on Thanksgiving Day, are restaurants open?

[Casloy]

How come the muslims don't sue to have everything closed on Friday, and the Jews to keep everything closed on Saturday? It only seems fair in a state that seems to twist everything out of proportion in the name of fairness and equality.

[dighton]

Odd to see the homosexual-marriage state playing Puritan.

[jennyp]

But in Massachewsets it's okay to be open on Christmas Day.

The article sez:

Many of the state's Puritan-era blue laws, passed in the 1600s to keep colonists at home or in church on Sundays, have been repealed, such as a ban of liquor sales on Sundays. But one that remains in effect requires all stores, except convenience stores and gas stations, to close on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

[R. Scott]

It is Massachusetts. They take the “First Thanksgiving was in Massachusetts” fairy tale very seriously.

[doodad]

Wow, I didn't know any state still had them.

Come South sometime. It is ridiculous. Talk about separation of church and state. And the funny thing is that when there is talk of change, the Baptists and Atlanta bar owners (who can serve on Sunday)are allies. Hilarious.