Rockaway Townsquare Mall to Open Thanksgiving Night

For the second consecutive year, Rockaway Townsquare Mall, home to Morris County’s largest single retail establishment, will open its doors on Thanksgiving Day.

And this year, it will open even earlier than it did last year.

Representatives from Rockaway Townsquare’s public relations company, Ryan PR, said the mall will open its doors at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, and close at 1 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 28. The mall will reopen its doors at 6 a.m. Friday and stay open until 10 p.m. that evening.

While the mall is opening two hours earlier than last year, unlike 2013 this year will see a break in the action.

Last year marked the first in the mall’s nearly-40-year history it opened its doors on the November holiday, when shopping began at 8 p.m. and the mall didn’t close until 10 p.m. Friday night.

As for the individual stores inside, representatives from the public relations company said the decision to open on Thanksgiving at all is ultimately up to the businesses themselves.

When the mall opened last Thanksgiving, all of its stores inside did the same, though some did not lift their gates simultaneously with the building’s opening.

Last year’s opening came with major backlash, however, after an internal memo from mall management was leaked announcing that all retailers inside the mall were required to remain opened during the entire 26-hour window.