Note, I’m grateful for the handful of businesses that are open on Thanksgiving. I don’t need them much but while in college sometime in the 20th Century, I stayed “in town” twice rather than buying two plane tickets less than a month apart.
I was not permitted to remain in the dorm so the first time I stayed at a hotel on campus. The restaurant had a meal package for lunch that was good. They were closed for dinner and did not make this abundantly clear. I eventually had to settle for a burger from a greasy spoon diner. Very little was open.
The other time I stayed at a friend’s rental house.
If you find yourself without a stove/oven and possibly without a fridge, you too may need someplace to be open.
Another flight (I think it was a Christmas season/end of semester trip), my flight got postponed over 12 hours, missed my connecting flight, got put up in a hotel, got to the airport for the first available flight, got snowed in around 15 hours. Eventually made it home.
I’ve been at the airport where they waited (non holiday) until after the restaurants have closed ~8pm to announce that the flight will be delayed until after 10pm with no meal/snack service (this for a flight originally set to leave before noon, with no rain or snow, it was summertime and any “fog” delay was long over by the time I finally got to my destination at 2am).