Local Markets Make Thanksgiving Dinner Easy

Before you know it Thanksgiving Day will be here, but will you be ready? Whether you think you are right on schedule, or already know that you will be frantically trying to find gravy mix at 7am on Nov. 25, local markets are doing what they can to make this holiday a bit less hectic for you.

Seabra Supermarkets

Located at 1150 Hope St. in Bristol, Seabra offers delivery and a shopper friendly setup for the holidays. For customer convenience, canned and baked goods as well as other holiday cooking needs are displayed at the end of each aisle, close to the registers.

"I believe that people have most of the items they need and are ready," said store manager Dave Pappas. "But we are open on Thanksgiving so people can pick up those last odds and ends."

Heidi Massey of Bristol was picking up her turkey and pumpkin pie at Seabra on Monday.

"I have to go out again and pick up things like eggnog and Cool Whip, but the turkey is the important part," she said.

Seabra has fresh and frozen turkeys on hand and is the only supermarket between Bristol and Warren that will be open on Thanksgiving. The store will be open from 7am to 12pm on Nov. 25.

Super Stop & Shop

Located at 605 Metacom Ave. in Bristol, Stop & Shop makes it easy for you to find everything you need to be fully prepared for the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Stop & Shop has staff members spread throughout the store handing out recipes for deep fat frying a turkey, green bean casserole and other traditional Thanksgiving Day treats. Staff members are also equipped with a handout listing aisle numbers for common and hard to find holiday items so you don't get lost in the store.

Stop & Shop will be closed on Thanksgiving, but will be open for normal business hours (until midnight) on Wednesday, Nov. 24.

Tom's Market

Located near Cutler Mills at 137 Child St. in Warren, Tom's Market specializes in fresh food and will be open on Wednesday, Nov. 24 until 8pm. For the last week, the staff has been taking orders for platters, sides and turkeys for customers to pick up on Wednesday. The store offers an array of freshly baked dessert items as well as other holiday items such as fresh and canned vegetables, boxed stuffing and cranberry sauce. According to store manager Sal Dimeo, the staff is well prepared for the last minute Thanksgiving rush.

"Our customer service is something we pride ourselves on here," said Dimeo. "So our staff will be ready and willing to help customers with their last minute purchases."

Kevin Barrieault, a meat cutter at the market, noted that there was a significant increase in the number of ordered turkeys.

"Last year we were new, so we got maybe 30 orders," he said. "This year we got about 120 orders for our farm fresh turkeys."

While most of the fresh, free-ranging, antibiotic and hormone free turkeys have been ordered and picked up, the store still has about a handful left.