Events

Charlotte, N.C. -- Belk stores will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. From 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 28 through 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, stores will offer more than 350 early bird specials while quantities last The promotion will feature hundreds of special deals in every department.

The first 250 customers at each store at the 8 p.m. opening on Thanksgiving will receive a free Belk gift card with a value ranging from $5 to $1,000, and with a guaranteed $1,000 gift card winner in each of the company's 301 stores.

Greg Saputo has spent a career in retail loss prevention and in the latest installment of the National Retail Federation’s video series, “This Is Retail,” he reflects on the first time he caught a shoplifter.

Peoria, Ill. — AMC Theatres plans to open a new 40,000-sq.-ft. eight-screen theater complex at the Streets of St. Charles, a 400,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use project in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Slated to open in the fall of 2014, AMC will join a mix of retail, restaurant and office tenants. Restaurants include Tucanos Brazilian Grill, Prasino and Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Bar Louie plans to open next spring.

Lakewood, Colo. -- Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is opening its second store in Idaho, which will be located in Idaho Falls. The store opens for business on Nov. 12.

"We invite the Idaho Falls community to come in see what we're about," said Kemper Isely, Natural Grocers co-president. "While they are here, shoppers can also take part in a free nutritional education seminar- or pick up some practical ideas for healthy eating during one of our free cooking demonstrations."

Santa may need to send his suit to the dry cleaners next week after Belk gets a jump on Christmas by hosting an event called Santafest on Saturday, November 16.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based department store chain operates 301 stores in 16 southern states, more than half of which are located in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. It can be quite warm and humid in the Southeast well into November with hurricane season not officially ending until November 30.

Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer will open a 190,000-sq.-ft. supercenter in Danville, Ill., on Nov. 7, the sixth new Meijer store to open this year.

The family-owned retailer, which opened its first store in 1934, now has 204 stores throughout the Midwest.

Hammer & Nails — The Nail Shop for Guys has opened its debut location in Los Angeles, on Melrose Avenue. The new concept offers men a handsome, more customized—and more comfortable— alternative to female-centric nail salons.

Richfield, Minn. – Best Buy is the latest major retail chain to prepare for an early start to Black Friday. More than 1,000 Best Buy stores in 47 states will open their doors at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving night and stay open till 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29.