HANOVER, Md. — Thanksgiving is about family - and so is Thanksgiving shopping.
David Eastlake, and son David, love outdoor activities - and so, the family hit the road from Halethorpe in search of some Thanksgiving Day shopping at the Bass Pro Shops in Hanover.
"It was interesting - trying to find some deals," said Eastlake, "into fishing and hunting, so, best place to come."
Much of retail was closed Turkey Day - a trend we've seen since the pandemic. The Bass Pro Shops was among those open - from 9am to 6pm - and will open at 5am on Black Friday.
Folks working in the store will start preparing for the holiday shoppers at 3am.
"This morning's been busy," said Sabin Rausch, general manager of the Hanover Bass Pro Shops, "most Thanksgiving mornings are the busiest. Families come in and enjoy themselves here in the store."
Many of those families were already in the holiday spirit; a month away from his deadline, Santa Claus took some time out of his schedule to take photo with families.
Things, to be sure, have changed in the era of e-commerce.
"Definitely been a shift," Rausch noted. "The business has kind of kept up with it though, because we do fill online orders here in the store. So we will do same day pickups for people outside, and we ship them out to their homes as well."
"It takes us being here at 3am [on Friday], to start preparations - any last minute Black Friday deals we have going, we have to get them out on the sales floor prepped and signed, and we’ll hand out ticket for the hot-ticket items,” Rausch added.
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