You’ve been there. It’s 10:00 AM on Thanksgiving, the turkey is in the oven, and you suddenly realize you forgot the heavy cream for the mashed potatoes. Panic sets in because you know half the stores in town are locked up tight. For years, the big question has been whether Kroger—one of the last true giants to stay open on the holiday—would finally cave to the trend of closing its doors.
Well, for 2024, the answer was a bit of a mixed bag, though mostly a "yes, but hurry up."
While retail behemoths like Walmart, Target, and Costco have famously pivoted to staying closed on Thanksgiving to give staff a break, Kroger 2024 stayed the course for the most part. They basically became the emergency room for procrastinating home cooks. Honestly, it’s a high-stakes game. If you didn't get your rolls by mid-afternoon, you were likely out of luck.
Why was Kroger open on Thanksgiving 2024 when others weren't?
It’s a business move, plain and simple. When your biggest competitors (Walmart and Target) decide to go dark for 24 hours, you’re the only game in town. Kroger has a massive footprint. We're talking about the "Kroger Family of Stores" which includes brands like Ralphs, Dillons, Smith’s, King Soopers, and Fred Meyer.
Most of these locations operated on what they call "modified holiday hours."
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In 2024, if you were looking for Kroger open on Thanksgiving 2024, you probably saw a lot of stores opening at their normal time—usually 6:00 AM or 7:00 AM—but slamming the doors shut much earlier than usual. In the Houston market, for example, most Krogers were open from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Up in Nashville, the deadline was even tighter, with many stores pulling the plug at 3:00 PM.
The Pharmacy and Pickup Catch
Here is where it gets tricky. Just because the store was open doesn't mean every department was running at full steam.
- Pharmacies: Almost all Kroger pharmacies were closed on Thanksgiving 2024. If you needed a prescription refill, you had to plan for Wednesday or wait until Black Friday.
- Kroger Pickup (formerly ClickList): This was a major point of confusion. While the store aisles were open for foot traffic, many pickup windows closed an hour or two earlier than the store itself. Some locations stopped taking pickup orders as early as 1:00 PM or 2:00 PM.
- Home Delivery: Because Kroger often uses third-party partners like Instacart or their own refrigerated van fleet, delivery slots for Thanksgiving Day filled up days in advance. By the time Thursday morning rolled around, getting a delivery was basically impossible.
Regional Variations You Probably Didn't Expect
Not every Kroger is created equal. The company operates under a "division" model, which means a manager in Cincinnati might make a different call than one in Atlanta.
Take the West Coast, for instance. Ralphs and Fred Meyer often have different labor agreements than the standard Kroger-branded stores in the Midwest. In some areas, local blue laws or union contracts dictate holiday pay or mandatory closures. However, for 2024, the general corporate directive was to remain open to serve that "last-minute" demographic.
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The strategy is clear: be the hero for the forgotten cranberry sauce.
But it’s not all sunshine and gravy. Employees on platforms like Reddit have been vocal about the "holiday walk" stress. Many stores have to look perfect for potential visits from regional executives even on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a grueling shift for the people behind the registers, which is why those 3:00 PM or 4:00 PM closing times are so strictly enforced. If you show up at 4:05 PM, don't expect them to let you in for "just one thing."
Breaking Down the 2024 Schedule
If we look at the data from this past November, the pattern was remarkably consistent across the brand's 2,700+ stores.
Most locations in the South and Midwest stayed open until 4:00 PM. In more urban centers, or places where staffing was an issue, that moved up to 3:00 PM. A very small handful of stores in specific regions stayed open until 5:00 PM, but those were the outliers. The goal for the company was to get employees home in time for their own dinners, while still capturing the morning revenue spike.
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Essential Tips for the Next Holiday Cycle
Since Kroger tends to stick to its traditions, you can generally expect this pattern to repeat. If you're planning for future holidays or looking back at why your 2024 run went the way it did, keep these points in mind:
- The 24-Hour Myth: Very few, if any, Krogers are 24-hour operations anymore. The "always open" era died during the pandemic and hasn't really come back.
- App Updates: The Kroger app is usually the most accurate way to check holiday hours, but it sometimes lags. Calling the store on Wednesday afternoon is still the "pro move."
- The Wednesday Rush: If you think Thanksgiving morning is bad, Wednesday is actually the busiest day of the year for Kroger. If you can shop on Tuesday, do it. Your sanity will thank you.
- Stock Levels: By 2:00 PM on Thanksgiving, the "fresh" items like prepared pies or specific herbs (looking at you, sage and rosemary) are usually wiped out.
What about Black Friday?
Unlike the stores that close on Thursday and open at 5:00 AM on Friday for the chaos, Kroger usually just returns to its "normal" schedule on the day after Thanksgiving. Since they never truly closed for a full 24 hours, the transition back to regular hours is pretty seamless.
The bottom line? Kroger open on Thanksgiving 2024 was a lifesaver for millions, but it required a "get in and get out" mindset. The era of leisurely holiday grocery shopping is over. Now, it's a sprint against a 4:00 PM clock.
For your next big holiday meal, aim to have all your "must-haves" by the Monday prior. Use the Wednesday for perishables, and treat the Thanksgiving Day opening as a "break glass in case of emergency" option only. You’ll save yourself the stress of navigating a crowded aisle while a tired employee is trying to finish their shift and get home to their own turkey.
Confirm your local store's specific "Reduced Holiday Hours" via the official Kroger store locator at least 48 hours in advance of the holiday to avoid getting caught at a locked door. Check the "Special Hours" section specifically, as the main header might still show regular operating times. Scan the shelves for "Holiday Meal Kits" early in the week if you plan on skipping the cooking entirely, as these typically require a pre-order window that closes several days before Thanksgiving.