As more and more stores shift their Black Friday sales a day earlier, some local Brewton stores are planning Thanksgiving day sales as well.

Stage Stores Inc., parent company of Brewton’s Goody’s store, announced its stores will be open from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Thanksgiving, and will reopen at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

Brewton’s Walmart, which recently went to a 24-hour schedule, will be open all day on Thanksgiving, with Black Friday specials starting the evening of Thanksgiving.

“We are absolutely thrilled to open our stores earlier this year. We know our customers are eager to get started on their holiday shopping and find the best deals available,” said Michael Glazer, president and CEO of Stage Stores Inc. “Our stores offer gifts for the entire family from the best-loved brands and we know we are going to make a lot of customers happy.”

The move to open stores on Thanksgiving Day has been somewhat controversial; some people have complained that it takes store employees away from their families on Thanksgiving.

An informal poll on The Brewton Standard Web site shows that 75 percent of respondents do not plan to shop at stores that are open on Thanksgiving day.

Many of Brewton’s local retailers will be open on Black Friday, the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving shopping day.

But many will also start the holiday shopping season with the the Holiday Kickoff sponsored by the Brewton Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Nov. 21.

For more details about participating stores, click here.