Mall of America joins list of businesses closing on Thanksgiving

BLOOMINGTON, Minn., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The county's largest mall, Mall of America, announced it will join a growing lost of retailers that will not open for business on Thanksgiving Day.

"We've been talking about this for months," Jill Renslow, senior vice president of marketing and business development at the mall, told reporters. "We're excited to give this day back to our employees so they can celebrate with their families."

The mall will allow their 500-plus stores to open if they wish, though the mall itself will remain closed.

The Mall of America joined a growing list of retailers who, after recent criticism, are remaining closed on the holiday and opening for Black Friday sales the following morning.

Costco, Neiman Marcus, Publix, Dillard's, Home Depot, and Marshall's are among the other stores that have elected to close on Thanksgiving Day.