Are shops open on Sundays in usa? And what do people think about it?

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Why do I never, ever see anybody riding on that crazy enormous ferris wheel? Is it just for show?

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FlyByPC@reddit

I live in Philly and am just hearing about this now. Apparently they could use a little better marketing, for one.

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ArcticBeavers@reddit

Some see it as a fun day trip from the city, others see it as the epitome of capitalist bullshit spending. Pick your own journey!

A mega-mall chose a blue city as it's location?

How dumb are they?

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Iwantaschmoo@reddit

Im in Minnesota so we have the Mall of America. Kinda seems like not the most logical state for it but we do not have tax on clothing items. People do come for major shopping trips. I doubt you make up the travel costs if not close by but its also a fun place if your into that. Open Sundays.

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DefendTheStar88x@reddit

Same with NJ where the American Dream mall is. No tax on most clothing and footwear.

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CombatRedRover@reddit

I've been to MOA, and my impression of it was a lot like my impression of some of the giant malls (York? Searched it: Yorkdale) in the Toronto, Canada, area: it just makes sense in cold enough areas to have a really large indoor shopping space because it will get filled up in the winter months.

I purposely avoid those cities in the winter months, so I could be completely full of crap on that, but the logic seems to make sense to me?

A good sized indoor mall in the winter time would seem to be a money maker.

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donabbi@reddit

It's geography, really. It's right outside of New York City and right next to MetLife (Giants) Stadium.

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SingleDadSurviving@reddit

Is Giants stadium in the same town? The team that mostly only plays on Sunday? Having never lived in a major metropolitan area it's always surprising to me when you can go from one town or city to another and basically nothing changes. Like I've almost always lived pretty rural and when you leave a city or town there's not many stores and stuff till the next one.

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donabbi@reddit

Oh, yeah, there's pedestrian bridges between the mall.and the stadium. They're that close together.

And, it's funny, I'm always amazed when I travel places where you can see where the town ends. Literally mind blowing for me.

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SingleDadSurviving@reddit

So I guess the Giants and the stadium get a pass for doing business on Sunday. Lol a lot of places here you might get a city limits sign before you even know. My town has a population of 293. The "big" cities near us are both about 20 minutes away with populations of about 5,000 and 10,000.

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VinceP312@reddit

A sports stadium isn't a retail shop. LOL. Yes it gets a pass.

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SingleDadSurviving@reddit

Ok I just assumed they meant you couldn't do business. I was thinking the pro shops, concessions and stuff.

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It’s owners are Jewish and it’s close to a couple of major Jewish communities

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DiligerentJewl@reddit

This bit is relevant because observant Jews do not drive or shop on Saturdays, so Sunday is the default weekend day to go out shopping.

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SaintsFanPA@reddit

The overwhelming majority of the square footage is non-retail (amusement parks, ski slope, restaurants etc.). There is also a supermarket, which is exempted.

That being said, the project started and stopped multiple times, has significant unleased space, and has struggled to achieve profitability.

They were also bribing a Bergen County powerbroker during construction, and may have been counting on those bribes resulting in a carve-out or elimination of the laws.

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Business_Display8273@reddit

They said that about Chic fil A

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Tinsel-Fop@reddit

Admirable. I don't admire that at all. To me it smacks of "Look how Christian and good we are!" But the family was actually evil.

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Julesagain@reddit

I do too, but it's different when state or county government decides that for you.

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Billyg0at1991@reddit

I think I read that they won the lawsuit and now their retail shops cam sell on Sundays.

Before, it was the weirdest thing- the mall would physically be open, and a lot of stores would have their doors open so you could browse, but you couldn't actually buy anything. Instead, they'd have kiosks or tablets out so that you can purchase the item you liked in store, online... so you'd try it before you online shopped, in-store.

Weird loophole but better than nothing!

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digawina@reddit

American Dream isn't closed on Sundays.

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Round_Rooms@reddit

It sounds bigger than mall of America but by square footage it isn't.

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lindakurzweil@reddit

According to the newspaper, the American Dream Mall believes that they are exempt from Bergen County’s “Blue Laws” because the mall is in state owned land. I don’t have any other information.

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LtPowers@reddit

Its pretty insane to me that they would choose to open something like American Dream in Bergen knowing that they will face legal issues on Sunday opening.

They are. But Paramus has their own blue laws, which voters have time and time again voted in favor of, so I imagine even if Bergen overturns them, Paramus will continue to enforce them until forced to by the court.

Honestly, I like it. I live close enough to Passaic that if I need something I can just hop over there and buy it. Sundays are lazy days around here, which is nice.

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Hawk13424@reddit

Make it Monday then. Anything to avoid the religious connection.

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VelocityGrrl39@reddit

There is no religious connection here. Religion is not a big thing in this area. Plus a huge number of people who live here are Jewish. Their day of rest is Saturday. They still support blue laws, even though it means they won’t be able to shop on the weekends.

Nah. I've seen the stats on the liquor licenses held in the state. It's not all that different than the South Eastern states.

SkiingAway@reddit

(obligatory, not a lawyer - but used to live in NJ) AFAIK:

NJ law considers the restaurant to have no liability for BYOB. If you brought it and served yourself, the restaurant is not liable and can't be sued.

Jersey has updated their liquor laws, they just did it in a way that didn't work.

Instead of doing away with liquor license quotas like every other state besides PA and Florida. They just added a whole buttload of different liquor license caps with their own quota. Multiple types of brew pub license, beer/wine only licenses, seasonal licenses, club licenses, licenses for theaters, specific licenses for hotels.

Then every single one of those hit their quota as well and it spiraled into the same problem.

It's not being maintained just because of restaurant owners who want that secondary market value to stay high. Many of those restaurant owners would like to open other locations. And the restaurant lobby mainly represents the interests of Hilton, Applebees an the like.

In quota states, huge number of liquor licenses tend to be owned by land lords and investments groups. Who trade them as an appreciating investment. Small business owners, often the literal mom and pop operation, tend to be skittish about removing quotas because selling the business is the only retirement plan. And the liquor license can be a significant part of that value.

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rkb70@reddit

You car dealerships close at five or six?

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SnooRadishes7189@reddit

Hours can vary but some do. One goes as late as 8 p.m. and there is one that ends at 4 on one day of the week. Typical is like 6-7 p.m.. The problem isn’t the close time. The problem is that buying a car can take 1-2 hours. A store can be closed to new customers but still handling the last customers.

Now the salespeople don’t mind some overtime as they will get paid time and a half like anyone else. But 1-2 hours of overtime every day of the week can be too much if it goes on week after week. So instead of working 8 hours a day. You are working 9-10 hours a day. The ‘normal’ work week of a full-time job in the U.S. is 40 hours. Working 45-50 hours a week 5 days a week every week can grate people. Sure, those extra hours are paid at time and a half but that is also less "time off" durring the week. Not to mention any additional hours you might get if called in for some reason(like someone called in on a busy day).

LemonMeringueMe@reddit

I did not know blue laws were still enforced anywhere! Here I am thinking they were a thing of the past that people just chose to keep on with.

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NoForm5443@reddit

There's fewer and fewer blue laws over time.

I lived in South Carolina, and they had a law that stores couldn't sell on Sunday before noon, except for tobacco and hosiery. We had a Walmart that was open 24 hrs, but they could only sell those things on Sunday before noon ;)

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SingleDadSurviving@reddit

No alcohol on Sundays here in Arkansas still.

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Nefaline17@reddit

Tobacco and hosier? What a strange combination.

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NoForm5443@reddit

I think the hosiery was so ladies could replace it, if needed, for going to church.

captainstormy@reddit

You see it less and less though. When I was a kid my tiny rural town was basically entirely closed on Sunday except for a few gas stations, and most of them were closed even. The town was also dry.

These days everything is open on Sundays and the town is wet. I've seen that same pattern in tons of rural towns in the past few decades.

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marbanasin@reddit

I grew up in CA but even in the 90s I remember the sentiment being that you wouldn't/shouldn't attempt to run errands on something like Memorial Day because stores would be closed.

I don't think the big box ones were actually closed. But there was that sentiment that businesses kept more normal working hours, weren't always open until 9 or 10pm, etc.

I honestly miss that.

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There's also certain towns that have blue laws which makes it so most businesses have to be closed on Sunday.

I've only ever seen blue laws apply to liquor sales, do they actually have laws forcing businesses in general to close?

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notapunk@reddit

That's what I don't think a lot of people get - local laws can vary wildly and can be kinda crazy at times. Laws involving alcohol in particular can get incredibly weird and differ significantly within a relatively short distance.

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Theslowestmarathoner@reddit

What’s a blue law?

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velociraptorfarmer@reddit

There's also a ton of small touristy towns in the middle of the country that will commonly be closed on Sunday and Monday so the owners and employees can still have a "weekend", but keep that sweet sweet Saturday tourist revenue.

Very common in river towns along the Mississippi in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.

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Weightmonster@reddit

Really?

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worrymon@reddit

Fucking Paramus...

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deathbychips2@reddit

Aren't usually blue laws just alcohol and car dealerships.

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whatthewhat3214@reddit

Most places have done away with blanket blue laws like this, although some still retain partial blue laws for liquor stores and/or, weirdly, car dealerships.

As someone who's travel to Europe from America I found it mind boggling that in Spain nothing was opened on Sunday and closed for hours in the middle of the day. Also that everything closed so early in the evenings in most countries and the complete lack of customer service literally EVERYWHERE!!! It's all about the customer and making money here.

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phord@reddit

My grandmother lived in a small town in southern Alabama. Most stores there were closed on Sunday. One time about 20 years ago when I was visiting for a while, I told her I was heading into town to get something from the hardware store. She said, "It's Wednesday. They're closed."

I found out all the stores were closed on Wednesday because that was historically the "colored day" when the descendants of slaves would be sent into town to shop. Since they couldn't shop at white-owned stores, and no one wanted to be seen with them in town, all the white-owned stores would close.

Get me a chicken sandwich, and some waffle fries. For FREE

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PikaPonderosa@reddit

Mandela got you

Nelson or Winnie? If it's a necklace from Winnie, I want no part.

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Oenonaut@reddit

Lowercase f too, if you want to get really picky.

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huazzy@reddit

Ah you're right! Guess I'm getting confused with how they spell Chicken in their slogan.

This is not true. It’s kind of depends on region, even the side of town. I went to San Francisco years ago when it was still clean there were certain sections of the town that shut down at 5-6 o’clock at night during the week and were closed on the weekends. Because their business was supporting the office workers. I didn’t find the entertainment district until I was like five days into my business trip.

Here in Utah, all the Greek owned restaurants are closed on Sundays. The car dealerships are also closed on Sundays because one of the major owners of the dealerships was a member of the the Church of Jesus Christ’s Latter-day Saints(Mormon) so he was able to get a Law passed, forcing all his competitors to be closed when a couple of the smaller competitors start being open on Sundays. A lot of the mega grocery stores used to be open 24 hours and seven days a week that ended with Covid. A lot of smaller businesses that are open on Saturdays are closed on Mondays. Businesses in small towns that are tourist supported tends to take a day off mid week or have shorter hours during the week. I’ve been told in Hawaii, other than the downtown. The rest of the islands shuts down at about five.

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United_Concept1654@reddit

Don’t forget all of city creek mall and Provo mall. It’s work at a store that has locations at City Creek and other malls. I have seriously considered trying to transfer to Ciry Creek so I can have Sundays off.

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ivhokie12@reddit

I remember taking a three week honeymoon in NZ. It was awesome, but there at the end I was in real bad need of a haircut, but couldn't get one because they were all closed.

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ritchie70@reddit

That is a bit simplistic, though isn’t it?

Most big retail stores are open.

Many small businesses are closed.

Most auto repair shops are small businesses, so they tend to be closed. You can probably get tires and an oil change, but you maybe can’t get a tuneup or an actual repair.

Nonemergency medical and government offices are closed.

Car dealers are closed in many states by law.

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Emily_Postal@reddit

You’re forgetting about Bergman County in NJ. Stores are closed on Sunday.

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gmwdim@reddit

Yes, most retail businesses are open on Sundays. Weekends are when most shopping happens.

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Open-Neighborhood459@reddit

Oh good to know

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TooManyDraculas@reddit

Blue laws are specifically restricting things for religious reasons, mostly alcohol. And mostly talk about them with regards to what's allowed to operate on Sundays.

We have ALDI here in Texas and they are open on Sundays. Almost all stores are open on Sundays in big cities. Out in the countryside a lot are closed on Sundays.
We do have a law in Texas that a person cannot buy hard liquor on Sundays, and you cannot buy beer before noon on Sundays.

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TGirl26@reddit

It varies by location & business.

Hobby lobby is closed on Sundays for religious reasons. Utah is home to the mormans so everything is closed on Sunday.

Some places have limited hours on sundays, and some places just treat it like another day.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Today is the 1st, it's work fest in Belgium, everything is closed except independent shops. Do you have that in the USA too? Traditionally, for the occasion, we give each other lilies of the valley.

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TGirl26@reddit

No. We don't even get the day off to vote, but our postal workers get every holiday & government holiday off.

Restaurants are open for almost every holiday.

We have in September labor day, but that's only for factories. Restaurants & stores stay open.

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Dekaaard@reddit

Late 1960’s Utah. The state legislature passes a blue law dictating Sunday closing for businesses. Even my young dumb ass is outraged. Federal lawsuit filed, Judge Willis Ritter (my hero) sez (paraphrasing here) “Ahh hell nah, in this state where the majority of the legislature is of a single religion? You gonna tell me your marching orders didn’t come from on high? Go forth and do commerce on the sabbath.” Amen Judge Ritter.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

It's May 1st here in Belgium. Most of the shops are closed because it's Labor Day. Do you have that too in the USA? (the only shops open are independents)

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AlleviateMyguSh@reddit

tobacconist

Where I live, some places are open and some are not. I've lived in other states where most things close.

The US can be hard to generalize sometimes, since each state is so different 😅

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Impressive-Put9617@reddit

Bergen County, NJ is a rare place with blue laws still where things are closed Sunday. Some places ban alcohol sales on Sunday.

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Comfortable_Pie_8569@reddit

Yes. It's fine. When I was younger, it was great to be able to work on weekends to pay for university. Now that I'm older, it is nice to have 2 weekend days to do errands.

The risk is that employees, especially low income workers who work more than one job, never get a day to rest, but you have so many other protections than we do, that it should be fine

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There's two Aldi corportations. Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. In the US Aldi Sud owns Aldi stores, Trader Joes is an subsidiary of Aldi Nord.

Aldi Nord apparently owns most of the shops in Belgium, Aldi SUD pushed for the repeal of these laws. And it's Aldi employees for both are apparently protesting?

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CH11DW@reddit

Except for Chick-Fil-A, everything is open.

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Heavy_Law9880@reddit

Before Covid most major companies were open 24hrs a day 7 days a week minus the really big holidays.

Most consumer facing businesses in the USA are open all days and hours where folks are willing to come spend enough money to pull a profit. No one thinks about it because it's our normal.

In Germany most stores were closed other than necessities (convenience/groceries, gas) and businesses made for weekend activities (parks, museums, tourist attractions, etc.) were closed. That never slowed me down in my month there. All the important stuff was still open, and if there was something I needed to do I just got it done on a different day. I think I would prefer it.

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Intrepid_Practice956@reddit

In the 70s and early 80s they had a lot of blue laws in Nashville. By the time I moved away on 1983, a lot had been repealed. I remember early on that you couldn't sell cars on Sunday, but that was not long for the world.

In the early 90s I lived in northern Virginia and the grocery stores couldn't sell beer and wine on Sundays. But where I live now most grocery stores can't sell alcohol at all.

Most of our stores now open on Sunday but often open later in the morning and close earlier.

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Curmudgy@reddit

Being forced to stay closed on Sundays would be a hardship on stores owned by Orthodox Jews who won't work or conduct business on Saturday.

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jamiesugah@reddit

My neighborhood is heavily Orthodox and yeah, everything is closed on Saturdays. Even my bank is open on Sunday instead.

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AudienceAgile1082@reddit

never knew that and have many Jewish friends in other US cities.

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TychaBrahe@reddit

There's a huge difference between secular Jews, reformed Jews, conservative Jews, and orthodox Jews.

As a secular Jew, I mostly devote my Saturdays to doing charitable work. I don't attend synagogue except during the week of the anniversary of my mother's death. (My father was not observant at all.)

Reformed Jews often go to synagogue on Friday evening so they have Saturdays free. If your kids do any kind of sports or a lot of extra curriculars like ballet, lessons are almost always on Saturdays. You either do stuff that day or your kids get cut off from a lot of normal activities.

Conservative Jews usually go to synagogue on Saturday morning and are generally done between 12 and 1 depending on when the service starts and what kind of food is offered after at the kiddish. If it's an ordinary Saturday, it's probably just cake and wine or grape juice. If somebody is getting bar or bat mitzvahed, their family may pay for a buffet with lox and bagel and salad. Often conservative Jews will go and do something recreational after synagogue.

Orthodox Jews do not start any electronics or carry anything, especially money, on Saturday. They tend to live near the synagogue so they can walk there. The services are much longer. Afterwards they will go home or visit friends and family who live nearby as well.

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KolKoreh@reddit

It’s Reform.

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newbie527@reddit

My wife is a Seventh Day Adventist and would agree.

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BadLuck1968@reddit

Pause. You’re married to a Seventh Day Adventist but you are not?

I live in the US and I remember Aldi being closed on Sundays when I was a kid (1990s). I realize now this was likely due to corporate expectations from Europe?

Anyway, in the US, in city areas, almost everything is open on sundays. In small towns, a lot of places, especially non-essential stores, are closed on sundays and Mondays. I live in a rural area and most small businesses are Tuesday - Saturday.

I appreciate businesses closing and giving employees rest.

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mittencamper@reddit

Nothing stops capitalism. Not even God.

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waitwutok@reddit

Yeah damn near everything is open except Jesus freak restaurants like Chik-Fil-A

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Mary_P914@reddit

When I was young (in the 1960s) many stores were closed on Sundays in the state of California. That stopped in the late 1960s. But I moved to the state of Texas in 1980, and most shops and malls were closed on Sundays. I didn't stay in Texas long, but in 2010, there were still towns in Texas where places were closed on Sundays. It seemed to be more of a regional thing in the United States.

It would definitely be an inconvenience to have them closed on Sundays.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Are we very late in Belgium?

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Mary_P914@reddit

Maybe, but maybe not. I mean I can place Belgium in my mind, but if I'm not mistaken, you live in a very small country.

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DOMEENAYTION@reddit

Basically everything is opened but they usually have shorter hours sometimes too. Like 6pm instead of 9 or 10pm. Something like that. I only know two very religious stores that don't open Sundays (Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby)

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Professional-Pungo@reddit

the only place I generally know that closes on sunday would be chick-fil-a.

most common places will be open.

God_Dammit_Dave@reddit

This seems to strange. When I was in New York City I could buy anything I needed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And usually walk to whatever I needed.

Having moved just outside the city, everything closes at 8 or 9 pm. Which makes shopping M-F, after work, difficult.

If you are not doing errands on Saturday and Sunday ... when are you expected to shop?

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

The rest of the week people say

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AuroraLorraine522@reddit

Depends on where you live. I feel like that’s pretty much the answer to every question on here, but the US is not a monolith.
Belgium is more culturally similar to France and Germany than New York is to Texas or Oregon.

hhannahmay@reddit

wait so there are people complaining stores arent open on sundays?? thats crazy lol like why wouldnt it be open on sundays thats one of the only days you can actually go out to get things

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Actually, people are complaining that shops will be able to open on Sundays. Here's an article in French; if you don't read French, you can probably translate it with Google.

I wonder if some of this is a difference in work culture, but I don’t really know anything about Belgian life. Is it relatively easy for most Belgians to get to work late or leave early occasionally if they have things they need to take care of? The trend in America in the last few decades is employers demanding more and more time out of the day, so there’s more of a feeling that the weekend is the time you have to run errands that you didn’t have time for during the week.

As another example, doctors used to be solidly Monday-Friday businesses in America, but more and more I’m seeing providers/offices that offer evening and weekend hours since people have a harder time taking off in the traditional 9 AM - 5 PM business day.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Here in Belgium doctors are closed on weekends and public holidays (noel Easter ascent) in the eyes of people on Sundays is made to stay with their families

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riarws@reddit

How do religious Jewish Belgians feel about this?

FlyingSpacefrog@reddit

Many stores are open on Sunday, sometimes for fewer hours than they are open the rest of the week. There are no laws regulating when a store can be open, and instead each business decides for themselves when they want to be open or closed.

I have seen a Walmart open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

I have seen a little clothing store run by the owner with no employees that’s only open two days a week.

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nerdymom27@reddit

Technically here they could be open on Sunday’s, but I live in Lancaster County Pennsylvania because the blue laws are not a thing anymore. But the practice still lingers in my small town. Anything other than gas stations, the grocery store and a couple of the bigger restaurants are closed. And if the mom & pop shops do open on Sunday they’re closed by 6 and they don’t open until noon after church services.

A large portion of the U.S. is open on Sundays.

It's kinda of a more recent thing.

There are 0laces in the U.S. that are closed on Sundays. Area's that are more religious will uphold (what i grew up with) Blue Law(i think that's what it was called) and not allowed majority of businesses to be open on sunday as it's "God's day" for church. But it's been slowly dwindling as a lot of small town shops aren't able to compete and stay open and large companies move it.

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Aggravating_Fishy_98@reddit

When my boomer dad and Gen X mom were younger everything, for the most part, was closed on Sundays. Everything being open on Sundays is something that started happening in like the 80s or 90s I think. So I think whatever is happening in Belgium is probably about the same backlash as what was happening when they went through it here.

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JohnnyFootballStar@reddit

Yes, nearly all stores are open on Sundays. Sometimes they might open an hour or two later or close an hour or two earlier. If normal hours are 8am to 10pm, they might open at 10am on Sunday or close at 8pm. But as others have said, almost everything will be open.

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C21H27Cl3N2O3@reddit

Most places close much earlier than that. A lot of stores near me are open 10-4. Some are only open 4 hours.

Some states still have laws that ban the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

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squirrell1974@reddit

"Most places" depends on where you are.

I see you're in Louisville (Loo-vul). I was there back in the 90's. Had to wait for the stairs to be rolled up to the airplane before we could disembark. Wildest thing I ever saw. I'd always thought that only happened in movies. On my way into the airport I took a picture of the sign that said "No Guns Past This Point" because the idea of anyone just bringing a gun out in public left me speechless.

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Asparagus9000@reddit

At least in most areas, each store decides themselves what days they're open.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Thanks

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SabresBills69@reddit

most stores know their local area. it’s rare for businesses to close on Sundays. it’s more like Monday or Tuesday. the times it might be closed on Sundays are…

owner is religious so Sunday being off is their choice
their business is driven heavily by those who work. the restaurant is in downtown area where it’s all business offices so they get little business on Sat/ Sun. areas in downtown near shopping areas or event centers/ arenas do stay open. in large cities that have a pro basketball/ hockey team and a baseball team, most weekends they will have sports or concerts going on so restaurants near those venues stay open on weekends when others not close will close.

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silkywhitemarble@reddit

My mom used to work in downtown L.A decades ago. During the week, it was always busy and full of traffic, especially in the area where there were more banks, financial institutions, and corporate offices that were only open 9 to 5. The lunch rush was the real deal for restaurants in that area. On weekends, there were people shopping in shopping areas, but many places would have limited Saturday hours and may be closed on Sunday in the financial area, since they relied on the M-F work crowd. Some shops would be closed on Sunday in the shopping areas, too, because they did more business M-F. But....those were small businesses, not corporations

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SabresBills69@reddit

In DC downtown area which is roughly north of the whitehouse thru Chinatown. The arena is in Chinatown so that place is always open. To the west of there is a large retail center before Covid.

Chik Fil A and Hobby Lobby close on Sundays because their owners are religious (they also have some religious based health care policies for their workers). Some places close early on Sundays (ie 6pm instead of 8pm) but otherwise most stores are open.

Aldi is open on Sundays here, just like everything else is. I understand there are places like Chik-fil-a that don't do it for religious reasons, but most of the country thinks religious reasons are stupid. Legal, but stupid.

When I was a kid, 70 years ago, lots of places were closed on Sundays. Pretty much everyone hated that.

The Aldi and Lidl places ought to just tell their employees that they can have other days of the week off. Saturday, for example, which is the 7th day of the week and the Sabbath. Religion isn't all that big of a deal in most of Europe, anyway. I don't understand the problem.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Sunday as a day of leave became compulsory in 1905 after the struggle of the unions of the time. for many Sunday being no longer a compulsory leave it is a loss of rights

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taranathesmurf@reddit

I agree with the majority. I would be shocked to find a store that wasn't open on Sunday.

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dgillz@reddit

Chik-Fil-A is notably closed on Sundays. Some places have laws against or restricting alcohol sales on Sundays. Here where I live car dealerships cannot be open on Sundays.

A lot of mom-and-pop shops are closed on Sundays, my barber is one. But mostly everything is open.

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And if a store is closed Sunday, you have only Saturday to squeeze in that errand. And Saturday is most likely to be the day with birthday parties, sports events, etc.

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Seul7@reddit

Very few people would see it as being “forced” to work on a Sunday

Also why good evening? It’s 8am here and 2am in Belgium.

manderifffic@reddit

I do vaguely remember in the early 90s, stores would open later and you couldn’t buy alcohol on Sundays. They often closed earlier, too. That was all out the window by the end of the decade.

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For the foreigners on this sub the phrase “blue laws” in America refers to laws that prohibit opening businesses (usually retail) on Sundays. These laws are mostly not in force any more, but in some areas they persist.

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norecordofwrong@reddit

As an American Catholic and practicing we simply don’t care. You make it to church when your schedule allows and your salvation is on you. If feeding your family requires a bit of sacrifice then that is more important.

I’m not casting stones when I need some groceries or gas on Sunday.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

norecordofwrong@reddit

Now I really need to know what the Vivaldi is? Are there colors associated or just epic music?

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

The Vivaldi coalition was the former government from 2020 to 2024/2025.

It was formed on October 1, 2020, under the leadership of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, after a very long period of negotiations (494 days after the 2019 elections).

The name comes from the composer Antonio Vivaldi and his work The Four Seasons.

In Belgium, this coalition brought together four political families whose colors represent the seasons:

Blue (Liberals: MR, Open Vld)

Red (Socialists: PS, Vooruit)

Green (Ecologists: Ecolo, Groen)

Orange (Christian Democrats: CD&V)

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norecordofwrong@reddit

Dang you guys are really into this color nickname thing. That’s not a drag on you. I just had no idea.

Around here we just deal with donkeys and elephants and two colors.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

For example, here in the Brussels-Capital Region, the record for days without a government is 613 days.

We have 6 governments and approximately 50 ministers and secretaries of state in 2026.

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norecordofwrong@reddit

Parliaments can be like that.

I promised myself I’d always post this if revenant. It’s a little off topic here but related.

https://youtu.be/Ggz_gd--UO0

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61Below@reddit

Quite a few of my favorite local ‘mom and pop’ shops are closed on Sundays, and in some of the smaller towns nearby have early close times on Sundays. The one that always threw me for a loop was when I worked in a town whose one grocery store closed at 3PM on Sundays. The next-closest place to get real groceries (not a gas station) was half an hour drive, and I didn’t stay at that job long enough for that to reach ‘know it so well you don’t have to think about it’ levels.

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Prize_Consequence568@reddit

"Are shops open on Sundays in usa?"

All of them? No.

Most? Sure.

"And what do people think about it?"

Depends on the particular person OP. It is what it is.

"I'm Belgian, and here the government has just authorized shops to open on Sundays."

Ok.

". This news has sparked strikes, notably at Aldi and Lidl, which are refusing to open on Sundays (their slogan is "We work to live, we don't live to work")."

Bonsoir! As others have said, most places here are open Sundays. I appreciate the convenience, but I feel sad for the employees.

Personally, I think the US could learn a lot from the rest of the world about work-life balance. I'd love to visit Belgium. I've been trying to learn French, but they're so silly with numbers. Belgian seems much more logical. I've heard the food there is also amazing.

Switzerland for 80 " octante or huitante "

Shoot I even worked at a bank that was open on Sundays.

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kenzlovescats@reddit

I pretty much exclusively shop on Sundays so it would be super annoying for them to be closed.

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spunkyenigma@reddit

We have a lot of restaurants closed on Monday to give a day off

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These-Ad5332@reddit

In Utah a lot of things are closed on Sundays but not as many places as in the 2000s

Yeah, we used to have Blue Laws where Sundays were off, but that was considered “Socialism” and now people want stores open on Sundays usually to 4pm to 6pm. Usually every holiday save New Years, Thanksgivings, Easter and Christmas are open. We used to close for more days, but as labor rights were stripped away, and unions were effectively eliminated and basically outlawed in many states and “right to work laws” were implemented to further curve socialist policies aka worker’s rights, the right to rest, the right to be paid a living wage and basic human rights the laws which protected workers from working 24/7 or 10 hour days as overtime is now becoming necessary to function in US society.

So you guys are following the American path just think in 20 years you’ll live like an American if businesses have their way!

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GasmaskTed@reddit

Or, you know, centering Christianity by forcing people to have nothing to do except go to church was fucked up top down theocracy.

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latin220@reddit

The USA used to have laws against usury and laws against gambling for this very reason that it’s both morally correct and based on Christianity. The USA also had these laws because they were regressive. Having everything open all the time and laws that allow banks to charge 28%+ is wrong and unfairly punishes the working classes which Christians are supposed to be against z same with gambling being a way to tax poor people because they’d rather gamble when they should save. Was it based on Christianity? Yes. Was these laws written with Christian principles in mind? Yes, but also Christian socialists who often found their values in the teachings of Christ and Marx.

Massachusetts was famous for having dozens of socialist leaders and representatives within our community and state government. These laws which gave workers time off ie vacation and sick days were based on being anti-capitalist and pro-labor and pro-Christian. The Blue laws were about this ideology which married the faith with economic power which favored workers over owners. The poor over the rich. The tenant over the landlord. When this changed so did our relationship with each other and how we fundamentally lived.

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Wicket2024@reddit

Since as long as I can remember shops and restaurants are open on Sundays. First the US chases the almighty dollar and since a lot of people do not work on Sunday it would be against this attitude to close when you can make a buck. Second we are not a Christian nation. We don't close down for every holy day for every religion people practice in the US, nothing would get done. Working Sundays is mo big thing...I did for years when I worked retail, and still had time to make it to Mass each week.

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bisquitsngravy@reddit

Most chain places are open but mom and pop shops are usually closed

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Aggravating-Kick-967@reddit

I’m in Washington state and shops have been open on Sundays since the early 1970’s when we abolished outdated and religiously based laws.

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Illustrious_Code_347@reddit

This is so strange to me. In America, the government has nothing to do with this. If someone has a store, and they want to open on Sundays, they can do that — provided they have employees who are willing to work that day. If an employee doesn't want to work on Sundays, they don't have to work there. Or, they can tell their boss before they are hired, "I'm not available on the weekends," which people do. Nobody is forcing anybody to do anything or not do anything. If a store wants to be closed a certain day of the week, they can do that too.

In practice, I would say most stores are open on the weekends. Certainly grocery stores, liquor stores, big box stores. Sometimes there are smaller stores that close, like if you're in a small town in America and they only have a few people working there, that might have a schedule where they are closed certain days of the week. But most are open. And then there's some places like Chik-Fil-A that are closed for religious reasons, though this is rare.

many GOOD restaurants are closed on Monday so the staff get 1 day off a week

otherwise, everything is open on Sunday except for Chick-Fil-A

Sunday is a massive shopping day. Saturday we are often too exhausted to do anything other than sleep and netflix. Most of us don't get very many days off work through the year.

Many stores open later, like at 10 or 11 on Sunday. And in a lot of places you can't buy alcohol in a store until noon on sunday, or they might restrict you to only beer/wine.

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Amardella@reddit

We've been 24/7/365 for many businesses for many years. The US lost lots of jobs in the late 1970s-early 1980s and part of the remedy was to increase the opening hours to employ 3 shifts of people. Some of the businesses have kept the reduced hours they had during COVID, so 24/7 grocery stores aren't as prevalent as they used to be prior to 2020.

notably at Aldi and Lidl, which are refusing to open on Sundays (their slogan is "We work to live, we don't live to work")

With few exceptions, historically, most people don't work 7 days a week, even in places that are open 7 days a week. The shifts are staggered so most people work 5 day/40 hour work weeks, especially in larger chains. The places where a person works everyday the shop is open are usually small, mom & pop places.

There are always exceptions, but googling tells me that 5/40 is still the average, with the movement going towards 4 day/40hour work weeks, rather than longer hours.

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WinterRevolutionary6@reddit

Most big corporate stores are open 7 days a week but if it’s a small business that relies on weekend rush, they’ll be open Thursday to Monday instead of Monday to Friday so that everyone can have 2 days off a week and they can still make weekend money

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nancylyn@reddit

Yes, at least all the states I’ve lived in shops can be open on Sunday if they want. Big corporate stores may be open on holidays as well. It purely depends on the business owner.

When I was growing up in Massachusetts they had “blue laws” which meant no alcohol could be sold on Sunday and since alcohol was sold in special stores those stores were closed on Sunday. If you wanted booze you had to drive to New Hampshire.

Not quite correct, or at least not fully articulated. You can buy beer and wine on Sunday, just not hard liquor. And this only applies to store purchases, not bars or restaurants. You can absolutely get a margarita on a Sunday afternoon. You just can't buy a bottle of tequila.

And how many places are closed on Sundays depends heavily on what part of Texas you're in. I'm in Houston, and aside from the usual suspects, like banks, Hobby Lobby, and Chik-Fil-A, nearly everything is open on Sunday.

That's not to say that labor conditions at retail stores are stellar. But being open on weekends isn't a main point of contention.

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Ok-Growth4613@reddit

In Indiana you can not buy anything with wheels from a dealership. Cars trucks or trailers. We can buy alcohol after noon on Sundays.

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jonesdb@reddit

Small towns may still be mostly closed Sundays but it’s becoming increasingly rare.

More densely populated areas have been open sunday for 50+ years though.

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Major-Assumption539@reddit

Mostly yes but there’s variations regionally. Regions that are more religious (currently or historically) often have legislation that forces a lot of businesses to close on Sundays, and some businesses do it regardless if the owner decides to on their own or for cultural reasons. I live in Utah and a lot of things are closed on Sundays here, not everything, but you’ll definitely notice how much less is available on Sundays.

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Clean-Fisherman-4601@reddit

Most shops are open. In my state liquor can only be sold in State Liquor stores. They used to be closed on Sunday, but within the past decade, several of the bigger ones are open.

Some private businesses are closed like beauty salons, nail salons and a few restaurants but we like it.

30 years ago other stores began to open, too. Most opened in the late morning and closed at 5 or 6pm. Restaurants were open later. I thought it was weird but also liked the convenience. I don’t remember hearing about any protests or anything, but I was also a kid.

Now, pretty much everything is open on Sundays, open midmorning and closing at 8pm or later. It’s weird to not be open. When I travel to other parts of the country (Texas, South Carolina) it’s a shock to not have access to places on Sundays.

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SaintsFanPA@reddit

There are some nuances - in many states you can’t buy a car, for example, and Bergen County, NJ maintains broad prohibitions. But, mostly, stores are open.

Much like everything in this sub, It depends. Some areas have what are called “blue laws” where the sale of certain goods and especially alcohol is restricted. I grew up one county over from a place like that. The employees loved it, the shoppers hated it.

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PomeloPepper@reddit

Texas requires liquor stores to be closed on Sunday. But you can still buy beer and wine after 10am at grocery stores on Sunday.

Every now and then someone posts a rant about how backwards and inconvenient that is.

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big_data_mike@reddit

In NC all alcohol sales anywhere were prohibited until noon on Sundays. All the NY and NJ transplants would get mad at restaurants on Sunday mornings because restaurants could not serve alcohol until noon.

One notable business that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year is Waffle House. Their reliability is such that it is used informally to judge the severity of storms by government emergency management. It’s referred to as the Waffle House Index.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index

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battery19791@reddit

Waffle House typically has backup generators and propane so they can continue to operate while the municipal grids are down. They also mobilize disaster teams so that local employees can deal with emergencies in their area and the restaurant can stay open. It's kinda wild.

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unsmashedpotatoes@reddit

Its common in small towns for local shops to be closed on Sundays. Almost all larger chains are open every day of the week. In the city I live in, some of the restaurants close on Tuesday.

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BigOil88@reddit

Most of the stores that do not open on Sunday, it would be if they are private and such a strategic staffing decision or combination of that logic. Many automobile dealers do not open on Sunday. Which could be related to the banking side as well.

When I grew up in Alabama. It was typically framed as religious. But they kept loosen to get over the years, exempting pharmacies, gas stations, etc. etc..

I remember the manager I think it was Kmart got arrested on Sunday. On purpose. wanted to challenge the law being written so broad as unconstitutional. Wasn’t exactly a Rosa Parks moment, but it was a principled stand

It used to be religious, but we’ve gotten more diverse there as well. Sunday Jewish. 7 day Adventist. Other. Some groups refused to do anything on Sundays. We respect everybody’s right to believe whatever the hell they want more or less.

In my area it’s mixed. Here in the major city of my fairly regions state, there are plenty of places open Sundays, but you always have to double check before making Sunday plans. Beyond the major city, most places in this state are closed Sundays.

For example, in my village:

Out of 5 supermarkets, only 1 was open all day (French chains, maybe that makes a difference) and another only until noon.

The pizzeria is open from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM or 2:00 PM, I'm not sure, and from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

The bakery is closed from Saturday afternoon onwards.

The two bistros are open all day.

A chip shop is open only from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

Burger King is open all day.

The garden center and all the other shops within the village are open all day.

The sandwich shop is closed from 2:00 PM on Fridays.

The Spanish grocery store only operates by appointment during the week.

The bookstore is closed from noon on Saturdays.

The two cigarette shops are open from morning until 9:00 PM.

The butcher shop is closed.

And the shopping center (selling all kinds of Chineses entry-level items , etc.) was also open.

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Eastern_Sky@reddit

In Utah a lot of things are closed on Sundays

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rohan_rat@reddit

I have to remind myself that a lot of bakeries are closed on Sundays and Mondays. It's generally unusual for places to be closed on any given day.

Many things are open but with reduced hours on Sundays.

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Objective-Ad5620@reddit

It used to be more common in small towns for stores to be closed on Sunday, and some parts of the country still have blue laws in place where stores are closed or sales of alcohol are restricted on Sundays.

But the rise of superstores like Walmart and Target has led to most businesses staying open on Sundays.

Interestingly, 24-hour stores had also been common in major urban areas before the pandemic; but many of those have disappeared since then. It’s a weird mix of wanting to offer services any time but not wanting to pay to staff physical stores.

There are still some businesses that do not open on Sunday, always with a religious element to it, and that is highly controversial not because they do business on Sunday but because many Americans don’t want religion promoted through major corporations.

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lexicon951@reddit

In the USA were used to acting like we live to work because the government treats us like we don’t deserve anything. So yeah most restaurants and shops are open on Sundays. Many even stay open on national holidays and will fire you if you try to take off work to spend time with your family (I personally know several people who were fired from a popular restaurant chain I used to work at for not showing up for their shift on New Year’s). And then if you do have to work, say, at a grocery store on like Thanksgiving when most people are feasting with family, some old grandma grabbing last minute onions will ask the cashier “why aren’t you home with your family?” Because you’re here buying onions, grandma. The store is open and I have to work because of people like you who forgot something you needed for your holiday meal, and because in a late-stage capitalist nation, if a business can make money, it will.

Chic-fil-a is famous not only as a fast food chicken chain, but because they’re the only known restaurant that ISNT open on Sunday. They don’t do it to prioritize workers and their families though- they do it because the company is Christian and believes that God mandates a day of rest/church.

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t-poke@reddit

I personally know several people who were fired from a popular restaurant chain I used to work at for not showing up for their shift on New Year’s

Yes, not showing up for a scheduled shift is a great way to get fired in most parts of the world. Work is not a "show up when you feel like it" thing.

If they wanted that day off, they should have put in a request for it.

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lexicon951@reddit

That’s the thing, you weren’t allowed to request off or to call in sick. It didn’t matter what excuse you had, they reserved the right to force you to work holidays or fire you for not being there.

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Turdulator@reddit

It’s super weird to me when everything in a country is shut down on Sundays…. Why do they assume everyone is Christian? And on top of that why do they assume that everyone is an actual #practicing Christian? It feels like a really stupid and/or intentional denial of reality.

Is the expectation that everyone gets all of their errands done only on saturdays? Or that people don’t go home after work? Or that no one finds themselves running out of something like laundry detergent on a Sunday? It’s so strange once a week for an entire society to just be like “fuck everyone and your different schedules and needs, stay in the house today and don’t do shit, all because of some other jerk’s religion.”

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

It is by no means a question of religion (but an inheritance indeed) at the time (before 1905) the trade unions fought for a day off (and indeed at the time with the Catholic religion Sunday was chosen). for many people here the fact of allowing Sunday openings would be a sign of going backwards (our ancestors fought for it)

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oneislandgirl@reddit

Almost everything is open on Sunday. Sometimes the hours are a bit shorter than weekdays but they are still open. Unusual to find a place completely closed on Sundays. Depending on where you live, certain things can be restricted all day or certain hours on Sundays - alcohol sales and car sales come to mind.

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AtomSmasherrr@reddit

Most things close a little early on Sunday and that's it. Thank god, or the army of office workers would never get anything done.

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not_falling_down@reddit

In the '70s in North Carolina, the Blue Laws kept most stores closed until noon on Sundays.

If I recall, you could not even buy gas before noon.

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tesyaa@reddit

Almost everywhere except Bergen County, NJ

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Ippus_21@reddit

Depends a little bit where you are. Some very rural places, or small towns, in more conservative parts of the country, sometimes practically everything is closed on Sunday.

But most places in the US, most businesses you'd think of as "shops" remain open on Sundays, including gas stations, grocery stores, most pharmacies, malls, certainly big box stores like Walmart, Home Depot, etc.

It really just depends.

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BronzeTrain@reddit

Yeah, almost everything is open on Sundays. Liquor stores in some states being the big exception.

Why are they striking? They can still choose not to open on Sunday, right? Are they being forced to open?

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VegetableSquirrel@reddit

I remember being in Denmark for Good Friday and everything was closed. We had to take a train into Sweden where the museums and markets were open, but with shorter hours. Then we flew back home to California on Easter Sunday, and everything, including Trader Joe's was open for business.

There was a time when stores were not open on Sundays due to Blue Laws.

Eventually those laws were repealed. It is so nice to be able to shop on Sunday. Especially when you work during the week.

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_bibliofille@reddit

Generally only small or family owned businesses are closed on Sundays here, even in my rural area of the Bible belt. The after church set loves to go eat after Sunday service. Restaurants instead close on Mondays or Tuesdays.

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SolOberlindes_2564@reddit

The United States really is 50 semi-independent states, each with its own laws, so whether stores are open on weekends or late at night can vary from state to state.

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blipsman@reddit

Yes, most retail businesses are open on Sundays. Especially chains and important businesses like grocery stores, pharmacies, Wal-Mart/Target. Maybe some small mom & pop store in a small town might be closed on Sundays, particularly in religious areas.

Here in Illinois, car dealerships are closed on Sundays by law.

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The_Se7enthsign@reddit

A couple of places close for religious reasons, but everything else is open every day.

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kmoonster@reddit

There are a few part of a few states that limit alcohol sales on Sundays, though this is not nationwide.

Most public offices either close on weekends, or are only open some weekends. This does not apply to parks, public recreation centers, nature centers, etc; just things like councilor offices, courts, and so on.

Everything else can choose their hours, and most places are open Sundays.

Shops that are operated by their owner will often close when that owner needs, but larger businesses will almost always be open regardless. Most have a bid or sign-up for their employees who want a particular holiday/day off, or who want to work on that particular day.

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ThirdSunRising@reddit

We like the fact that everything is open on our days off. It makes life better for everyone who has things they need to buy.

The problem, of course, is the need for retail workers to cover those shifts. The American attitude of "more jobs = better economy" is only half true; allowing people to work on Sunday if they need the work is good, but forcing unwilling people to work on Sunday kinda sucks.

I have spent most of my life in California, and can’t recall there ever being a law that prevented businesses from being open on Sundays. Quite a few are closed because that’s how they want it to be, but the majority of businesses are open. In my particular town, there are a lot of businesses that are closed on Sundays, but that is because it’s a very traditional and family centered town.

I lived for a few years on the East Coast in a county where there were a lot of blue laws, preventing certain businesses from operating on Sundays. For example, liquor stores and car dealerships were closed on Sundays. These don’t exist anywhere that I have lived in California.

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CRO553R@reddit

I like eating chicken sandwiches and shopping for crafts on Sundays

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CheesE4Every1@reddit

We used to have shops open 24/7.

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OkTackle5132@reddit

Depends on where in the states you are. I’m from New York. It’s a metaphor but literally this area of the world never sleeps. If you want tacos at 4 am on a Sunday, you can get those tacos.

My cousins live in South Carolina. You’d be lucky to find a breakfast spot open at 10am on a Sunday down there.

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SavannahInChicago@reddit

In Chicago shops close on Monday-Tuesday if they close are all since it’s the weakest sale day. I’ve never lived during a time where most things were closed on Sundays.

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In the US, most places are open on Sundays. Some will have shorter hours but it isn't usually dramatically shorter. Like they will still close in the evening not the afternoon.

If you are in a location like a shopping mall, they can dictate your hours, which includes having to be open 7 days a week.

For some, like hair stylists, it's not unusual for them to be closed on Sundays as business will be slower.

Most places are open on Sunday because due to how work culture is here, they'd be losing a ton of business if they were closed on Sunday- especially if they are only open 9-5, 10-6, or something similar.

There's a bit of regional variation and it definitely varies between cities and rural areas. Generally, larger businesses and especially chains are likely to be open 7 days a week. Smaller businesses are usually open 5 days a week. (Especially family-operated shops.)

If a business isn't open every day, Sunday is the most likely day for them to be closed. Businesses most commonly close on Saturday and Sunday, but in some areas, small shops and restaurants will close Sunday and Monday so they can be open on Saturdays when many people are free to go shopping, go out to eat, etc.

There are also still parts of the country where businesses like banks close on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday. Or close early on Wednesday. That used to be more common but mostly seems to happen in parts of the Bible Belt (region of the country that is generally more conservative and religious) and presumably because most churches have services on Sundays, some observe the Sabbath on Saturday, and some also have services on Wednesday evenings.

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ConsistentMobile4990@reddit

Yes. Convenient.

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strategic_hoarder@reddit

I live in very religious state and a lot of our businesses used to be closed on Sundays. I worked in the mall when I was a teen and about 2/3 of the stores would be open on a Sunday. As a teenager who was willing to work Sundays, it was exceptionally easy for me to find jobs. Sunday hours were always shorter.

It depends on state and type of place. In general In small towns with a population below 20,000? Probably not. In my state (California) in the suburbs/cities? Definitely. I can't think of a store that is closed on Sunday in my city, which has a population of ~180,000. My nearby big city with a population over 1 million people, also has most stores open.

I think some stores in Southern states (meaning states on the East Coast that are below Maryland) and Texas either don't allow alcohol sales on Sundays or don't allow alcohol sales before 12 or 1pm. That's also the place where it's more common to have stores closed on Sunday but even there, in most cities, you will be able to find something open.

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PresentationFluffy24@reddit

Only Chick-fil-A is closed. And car dealerships. I always thought that to be an odd choice. Why close on days when all of your consumers are available to buy from you? There are a fair number of restaurants closed on Mondays, especially Italian restaurants.

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Ok_Web_8166@reddit

It was common in small town, usa in the ‘50’s for no stores to be open on Sundays. There may have been exceptions, but I can’t remember.

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2PlasticLobsters@reddit

It used to be more common for everything to close on Sunday. When I was growing up in the 70s, most of the stores in Pittsburgh closed on Sunday. Not restaurants though. I can still remember how eerie it was walking through a mall to my parents' favorite cafeteria, with only the sound of the creepy Muzak playing.

We were somewhat insulated from it, since we lived near Squirrel Hill. As a largely Jewish neighborhood, they were exempt from these "blue laws". So we'd go there if we needed something from a store.

I got spoiled when we moved to the DC area. Since money is the main thing worshipped there, everything was open on Sundays. It was a rude awakening when I moved to the Baltimore area for college. Sundays were so boring with most stuff closed.

As it happened, I was working in retail when they repealed that law. So many people bitched about working on Sundays, they had to offer time & a half to entice people. I loved that, worked every Sunday, sometimes long shifts.

Nobody seems to give it much thought anymore, except super-religious people.

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professorfunkenpunk@reddit

This varies by location as states/cities can have their own laws, but on the whole most stuff is open sundays most places. Exceptions

Businesses that choose to close Sunday (chick fil a is the most famous but we have a local grocery chain, and some family businesses)
Banks are usually closed.
Locally, car dealers aren’t open sundays. Not sure if that is a national thing.
A lot of smaller businesses like non chain restaurants will be open on the weekend but closed Monday

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Practical-Ordinary-6@reddit

Many stores are open. Often with reduced hours from other days, but still many hours overall.

Some things are closed.

I remember when stores were always closed on Sundays. Always. I kind of miss it. Big box changed this in America.

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Lokisworkshop@reddit

+4 The law of 17 July 1905 was a key step in Belgium's social history, establishing compulsory Sunday rest for workers in industrial and commercial establishments.

Econoospheres +1 The main points related to this legislation and the role of trade unions are as follows: Background: This law comes after decades of union pressure, notably from the Belgian Workers' Party (POB) created in 1885 and reinforced by the arrival of Socialist deputies after 1894. It responds to social revolts and a need to protect workers' health. Content: It requires a weekly day of rest (Sunday) in industry and commerce. The role of trade unions: Although it was not a complete revolution as early as 1905, this law marked a step forward in limiting working hours, driven by increasingly organized mass trade unions. Evolution: It precedes other measures, such as the limitation of working time in mines in 1909, and finally the law of 8 hours and 48 hours/week in 1921. FGTB Liège Huy Waremme +3 This period also saw the organization and rise of Christian trade unions (which would structure the SCC) which also defended Sunday rest for social and religious reasons.

Lakesc.be +1

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andr_wr@reddit

Depends on the individual state - but generally in most areas, most stores can operate 365 days a year. Some states and cities require businesses that deal with specific items like alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana - to close by certain hours during the week or maintain restricted hours on Sundays or weekends.

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GurProfessional9534@reddit

I’ll go one further. We have grocery stores and some restaurants that are open 24/7. When we travel abroad, it’s a culture shock that you can’t just go to a grocery store whenever you want, or go to a restaurant late at night.

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Csherman92@reddit

Most stores are open on Sundays. Usually things open late and close early. But they are still open.

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madpeachiepie@reddit

Is the government saying that these stores HAVE to be open on Sunday? Because that would be weird. Most places here are open on Sundays, but I think the rules about workers working on Sunday vary from region to region. In Massachusetts, I had a union job at a grocery store and Sundays were optional but you got time and a half wages for the day. In Vermont, I'm in a grocery store again, no union, but I'm pretty sure if I wanted Sundays off, I'd be accommodated.

Most things are open on Sundays if it's a store.

Some states have blue book laws where liquor or beer distributors can't sell alcohol on Sundays (although bars are still open).

Before COVID a lot of stuff was even open 24/7, but that was an unfortunate loss of COVID.

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CountessofDarkness@reddit

Almost everything is open Sundays. Hours are often reduced though- open later, close earlier.

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famousanonamos@reddit

Many small businesses or those that are owned by religious groups are not open on Sunday, though a lot of small businesses close on Mondays instead so they can get the Sunday shoppers in. Most restaurant and retail chains and large businesses stay open because it's a big business day. People who work Mon-Fri shop on the weekends, but no one wants their whole weekend to be running errands so may choose to do it Saturday or Sunday.

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DartDaimler@reddit

I live in a very diverse area of Northern California. The “closed” day is different across communities—Muslim-owned businesses are often closed on Friday, Jewish businesses on Saturday, Indian businesses on Monday.

The US, apart from Christian National propaganda, is only 62% Christian. Prioritizing one religion’s sabbath day as the one businesses must close for is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

In general, we don’t like it ☺️. We can work to live without all having to work on the same days.

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I'm sorry, but that is literally insane.

Limiting the hours is one thing, we have noise ordinances too, but telling someone they can't mow their lawn on a Sunday afternoon would never fly here.

When the hell are they supposed to do it? They work Monday through Friday. They have to do all their shopping on Saturday. And they can't mow their lawn on Sunday.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

I know it's absurd

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kritter4life@reddit

They used to not be but now it’s the norm.

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StinkieBritches@reddit

Mostly just Chick Fil A and religious themed stores are closed on Sundays.

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On_my_last_spoon@reddit

TheClubsterFist@reddit

I feel like in my city it’s Monday and/or Tuesday everything is closed.

Sunday is common. Mostly for grocery, restaurants and retail. Doctor and dentist offices are not.

Belgian grocery could consider closing on Mon or Tue to compensate if they were feeling pressure to be open on Sundays.

Most people work Mon-Fri leaving Sat-Sun for shopping, hence the push for being open on weekends.

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iswintercomingornot_@reddit

America's motto is: Everything - all the time.

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Common-Parsnip-9682@reddit

Not only on Sundays, most places you can find something open 24 hrs a day.

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melvadeen@reddit

Yes. In the south, it's common to them to be open noon to 6:00 pm. Although, some are open the same hours as a weekday. Check the local stores hours on their website before going.

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Available-Egg-2380@reddit

Hello! I'm from Fargo, North Dakota. When I was a child (I'm 41) the only things allowed to be open on Sunday would be gas stations, medical clinics/pharmacies/and maybe a grocery store for a few hours. This was part of what was called Blue Laws. When I was a teenager more stores were allowed to be opened but couldn't be open before noon on Sunday unless considered essential (gas, grocery, medical). In 2019 the blue laws were repealed after decades of trying and stores of all types can be open at any time on Sunday. Last year there was an attempted to reinstate the blue laws but it went nowhere. A lot of stores still open later and close earlier on Sundays.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Mashed because my arrivals also lol

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ClingTurtle@reddit

Almost everything is open on Sundays except banks and post office. Also a popular chicken sandwich chain is closed on Sundays. Some states prevent or limit alcohol sales on Sundays.

Very odd when a store is not open when their customers are able to come in.

If you are running a grocery store, most of your customers work M-F and thus have all day Saturday and Sunday to shop. Why would you be closed on Sunday?

Of course, I get the religious issue. But many of us are not Christians and thus we don't mind working on Sunday if we get Monday off. Are you going to go on strike because the store is open on Friday after sunset? That's Shabbat, Jewish people can't work then. Are you open at noon on Friday? That's Jumu'ah, Muslims pray at noon on Friday. I don't know much about Buddhism or other eastern religions, but my guess is that they have their own separate traditions that don't involve going to church on Sunday.

See the problem? Closing on Sunday is basically saying "we will force everyone to observe this random Christian tradition, regardless of your actual religion."

Many are.

ColoradoWeasel@reddit

In Colorado, most stores are open on Sundays. But car dealerships are not.

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MrDBS@reddit

When I was a child in CT, most shops were closed on Sundays. They were called Blue Laws, and they were repealed in 1979, except for alcohol sales. Retail alcohol sales were prohibited on Sundays until 2013, and after 8pm everyday until 2024. I don’t remember any uproar in my state when the shops opened on Sundays in the 70s, but I was young.

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LuckyStax@reddit

Shops are almost always open. Americans are self obsessed enough to get upset over inconveniences like being closed on the weekend or a holiday. They don't care about shop workers rights, they'd rather the shop be open 7 days a week.

I'd say being closed on Monday is more common in some places like restaurants.

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Prior-Soil@reddit

Americans work long hours and many live far from stores. So they shop on days off, which for many is Saturday and Sunday.

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WildMartin429@reddit

Many locations throughout the US had what were called blue laws that prevent it stores from being open at specific times usually on Sundays sometimes on Saturdays. I'm not sure any of those laws are still on the books but pretty much any business that wants to be open on a Sunday can be open on a sunday. There are plenty of businesses that close for the entire weekend as well and are just open Monday through friday.

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WhichWitch9402@reddit

Most are. Some are closed for religious reasons like Hobby Lobby. Some stores have shortened hours on Sundays. Grocery stores used to prohibit liquor sales on Sundays until noon.

‘Likely it’s smaller family-run shops that would be closed on Sunday, but it is not the norm a more. When I live in New England area a LONG time ago, they had what they called “blue laws” which prohibited certain types of businesses from being open on Sundays. A holdover from Puritan times.

Blue Laws

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Weightmonster@reddit

Americans would find the government telling private business when you open as tyrannical.*

Most US shops are open on Sundays. Only some small “mom and pop” stores might be closed.

Some restaurants are closed, because the owners choose to be.

(*exceptions are liquor stores in some area)

In Los Angeles everything has been open on Sundays I'd say from at least WWII. When I was young, in the 60's and 70's,mif a place didn't have the business to justify being open 7 days a week they were closed on Mondays. Until the mid 80's it was not uncommon for restaurants to be closed Mondays. Currently some museums are still closed Mondays or 1 Monday a month.

As a capitalist/corporatist society, the true focus of worship is the dollar. It would equate to a loss of potential sales to be closed on a day when the majority is off work.

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DynamiteStorm@reddit

Aldi’s is closed , the other 5 grocery stores within a mile radius are open Sundays

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ophaus@reddit

Very few places close on Sunday in most of America. In more religious areas it's more common.

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CAB_IV@reddit

Major chains are open Sundays. There are only a handful of exceptions like Hobby Lobby and Chik-fil-a.

Typically, smaller privately owned shops do close one Sunday, but often they are also closed Monday. I think this has more to do with just the economics of running a small store than any sort of religious thing

the government has just authorized

The government has no such authority to do that here.

Most things are open on Sunday, a few are not.

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JJHall_ID@reddit

It's hit and miss. Most of your major chains like Walmart and McDonald's are open 7 days per week, maybe closing on major holidays like Christmas. There are a few that close on Sundays because of religious beliefs, Chic-Fil-A being one notable chain, but that's pretty rare. When you get to smaller "mom & pop" stores it is completely mixed. Some are open on Sundays, some are not.

For me, personally, I get frustrated when I want to go somewhere on a Sunday and they're closed. I work Monday through Friday so sometimes the only times I am able to go shopping for certain things is on a Saturday or Sunday, and some weeks Saturdays are taken up by other activities. Now I'm not saying those owners or employees shouldn't have days off, they absolutely deserve it. But it would make a lot more sense for most businesses to shift the days off so their weekends are staffed, that way they can be open when more people have time off.

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Successful-Coffee-13@reddit

I used to live in Europe and most places would close early during the week (6-7 pm) and no shopping on Sunday. First - a lot of times I’d want to go to a cafe to hang out with friends just to kiss the door. Second - if you are busy during the week having just Saturday for shopping is not enough. Having things open here for longer and on Sundays feels like a breath of fresh air. I like it much more.

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churchillguitar@reddit

Aldi and Lidl are definitely both open on Sundays here

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Calaveras-Metal@reddit

it depends on where you are.

In some more religious areas of the country there are 'blue laws'. Stuff that means certain businesses are not allowed to be open Sundays. A few states don't allow alcohol sales on Sunday. But I've seen counties that don't allow any kind of business to be open except supermarkets and laundromats. Or some places just mandate certain things like bars, strip clubs, gambling have to be closed.

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Sl1z@reddit

The employees are on strike because they don’t want to work on Sundays

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ButtholeSurfur@reddit

That's a bit different than "Aldi is refusing to open on Sundays."

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Alternative-Eye7589@reddit

I don't know of many store that are closed on Sunday and most people are mad they are not open 24/7. We close my store at11 pm and I hear from the over night workers they are constantly kicking people out at 2 am

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jstnrgrs@reddit

This varrirs by state, but in Massachusetts, there used to be blue laws requiring stores to close in Sundays. The ended decades ago, but most hourly workers who work Sundays are required to be paid time and a half (So basically Sunday counts as overtime regardless of how many hours are actually worked during the week.)

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Overall_Occasion_175@reddit

Maine's "blue laws" are literally only that large businesses must close on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and people complain enough about that!

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-Boston-Terrier-@reddit

Generally, yes.

There are very few laws dictating which days businesses can and cannot be open. Most people are perfectly fine with it. Ironically, most of the people who complain about businesses being open on weekends or holidays tend to be more affluent and work a more standard 9 to 5 job that doesn't include weekends.

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backlikeclap@reddit

Generally if a shop is closed in the US it will be on a Monday or Tuesday... Seems sort of silly for a shop to be closed on a Sunday when I assume most people are not working and might want to catch up on grocery shopping or home projects or whatever.

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GrimSpirit42@reddit

Most of your big retailers are open 7 days a week. Major exceptions are Chic-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby. Aldi's in the US are open on Sundays.

Some smaller mom & pop shops, are open half-days on weekends and off Sunday's.

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MyUsername2459@reddit

The idea that stores have to be "authorized" to be open on Sunday sounds dystopian.

It's completely normal for stores to be open on Sunday. People expect it. It's seen as a sign of religious fanaticism in the US for a store to be closed on Sundays. The chicken fast food chain Chic-Fil-A is famously closed on Sundays, so is the retail chain Hobby Lobby, both of which are tied deeply to far-right religious extremism. Refusal to be open on Sunday as a business in the US generally marks a business as being tied to religious fundamentalism and far-right politics (except for small businesses operated by their owner, where it's generally accepted they can't afford to hire other employees to keep the place open beyond normal weekday hours).

It's been completely normal for many decades for stores and restaurants to be open on Sundays, and it's widely expected. In many places, archaic and oppressive "blue laws" may have limited stores being open on Sundays in decades past, but they were eliminated a generation or two ago in large part because it meant imposing a religious rule on secular society.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Here is the press article in French you can translate it according to your phone or computer https://www.rtbf.be/article/le-gouvernement-valide-l-ouverture-possible-des-magasins-7-jours-sur-7-jusqu-a-21-heures-11714720

Most stores are open, but a couple do close on Sunday for religious reasons, namely Chik-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby.

I don’t have an issue with it to be honest. Private companies have the right to run their businesses how they want. If that involves religious values, so be it. I respect it nonetheless.

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In my town there are reduced hours to closures on sundays. I personally hate it. It makes it hard to shop when you can only do it Saturday.

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If shops and restaurants weren’t open on Sunday, where would all the fine people go after church? /s

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Lol

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Bastyra2016@reddit

Larger stores are open on sundays. It’s a little annoying that the smaller shops like a local Sherwin Williams paint store is open 1/2 day on Saturday and closed Sunday. I’ve unfortunately been there a lot recently and their base is 99% tradespeople who likely don’t plan to work weekends. However the homeowner DIY warrior often does most of their work on Saturday and Sunday. It sux to run out of paint and have to wait for Monday to finish a project.

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alicat777777@reddit

There are laws in some states about when liquor can be sold on Sundays. But businesses are mostly open.

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Physical-Energy-6982@reddit

In my area a lot of small businesses are closed Sundays, or have really reduced hours, i.e. 12-3 or 9-12

Where I work, we’re closed on Sundays because it’s been deemed “not worth it” financially to be open in our market. I guess they tried it for a while when we first opened and we lost money on Sundays.

VinceP312@reddit

Its so nice having a weekday off. It's like a magical time.

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razzberrytori@reddit

Are there not enough staff to be about to schedule everyone to have one weekend day off?

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Jasonofindy@reddit

It isn’t usually about having enough staff in most stores. It is often based on seniority. Those that have been there longer get the daytime shifts through the week. New hires and low seniority get stuck with the night and weekend shifts. There are also often longtime employees who now have kids and no longer have much schedule flexibility. They can often only work daytime shifts on school days while their kids are away in school. If you try to force them to take other shifts, they will quit. Generally speaking you don’t want to do that as they are often your best employees otherwise.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

All my support to you

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BriLoLast@reddit

Others commented, but yes.

Most big chain stores have Sunday hours. You may see certain businesses possibly including locally owned may be closed on Sundays. (Certain ones do it for religious reasons).

Around here they only deliver Amazon packages on Sunday.

Interestingly they won't go more than 1/4 mile from the public roads Mon-Sat, so Sunday is the only day the USPS brings anything to my door.

No_Report_4781@reddit

You know the motto: Live Work, or Die

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Yes. Not odd.

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fattycatty6@reddit

Of course they are. Gotta keep pursuing the almighty dollar.

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Lefaid@reddit

Everything is open on Sundays now. That wasn't always the case 30.yeaes ago, and the places where things were closed on Sunday tended to be more religious.

Watching Germany and apparently Belgium have most things closed on Sunday seems very old fashioned to me.

I also wouldn't look to the US for what fair and reasonable labor laws look and sound like.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

And people think it's good? Here many refuse to go shopping on Sundays in solidarity with employees

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Lefaid@reddit

Americans are obsessed with convenience. We don't even think about it. We want what we want when we want it. It was never about workers. If a place is closed in Sunday, it is about respecting the Sabbath.

You are not going to find any solidarity with Americans of any stripe on this. People who care about union rights, don't think Sunday is special and are more focused on 4 day work weeks and things of that nature, while the few who do want to get rid of shopping on Sunday are so deep in the far right religious echo chamber, they aren't going to register it as a fight for workers' rights.

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VinceP312@reddit

Political brainrot.

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VinceP312@reddit

Yes people think being able to shop on Sunday is good. That's why we do it. Lol.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

I understand

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VinceP312@reddit

Also, as far as the employees go.... it's not like retail workers are working 7 days a week for the one employer. They do get their days off during the week. So I don't think most people in the US want to deny hourly works opportunities for hours.

It would be pretty ridiculous to DEMAND that these people be denied an entire day of potential earnings.

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t-poke@reddit

Yes, people think it's good otherwise we wouldn't shop on Sundays.

I work Monday through Friday. That leaves two days a week to do any shopping and run any errands I need to do. Force shops to close Sunday, and that leaves one.

I'm glad places are open Sunday here.

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KrazySunshine@reddit

When I was a kid in PA in the 60s and 70s all the stores were closed except one, a big discount store called 2 Guys. That place was always so crowded. I always loved going there. Then after awhile the malls stayed open and now basically all stores are open.

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Flat-Sun7050@reddit

We live to work. It’s part of the dna of the country. People will brag that they worked a 70 hour week and no one will bat an eye.

Only a few places are closed on Sundays and those are for religious reasons.

The upside is, I worked my ass to the bone and retired at 47 so now I don’t have to work and am able to do the things I always wanted to do. In hindsight, I wish we were more relaxed and understood that a job is just that and not my whole identity. It took a few years to be good with just existing.

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Slow_Concern_672@reddit

I'm not sure how everyone can get things done with stores/gym not open weekends or different hours. Like there has to be some sort of offset in schedules. When banks weren't open as much in the evening or weekends and no online, I had to take PTO to go to the bank. I get 2 weeks PTO. So anyway I prefer things to be open like grocery store gas station etc.

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purplishfluffyclouds@reddit

"Shops?" What "shops?" That word is so broad it's impossible to answer this question, LMAO

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

the supermarkets especially Aldi and Lidl

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joeyx22lm@reddit

"The Government has just authorized"?

You mean to tell me if someone wanted their shop to be open on Sundays, it was previously illegal? Yikes.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

In fact, some supermarkets were already open until 12 noon, garden centers, etc.

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Adorable_Dust3799@reddit

California and as far as i know everything that's open in Saturday is open on Sunday. Why wouldn't it be? I mean i know the whole church thing about a day of rest but while you're having shellfish and wine after your divorce might as well shop. And why should the whole city follow one rule relevant to one religion? Or 2 or whatever.

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ehunke@reddit

The problem in the US is we live in a consumer culture so if your not open sunday, chances are your customers are going to someone who is. We don't know how to take a break, I think laws that prevent businesses from opening on Sunday are silly and outdated, but, stores opening on sunday for the sake of being open is stupid as a lot of retail stores in the US don't get much business on Sundays, but, they would still prefer to be open

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Pinwurm@reddit

Shops being closed on Sundays is uncommon here. Of course, some do for religious, personal or economic reasons. But this some of the biggest complaints about Americans living or travelling abroad.

Though in my experience this isn’t as much of an issue in bigger cities in Europe.

What you do find commonly is shops closing early on Sundays.

It’s also common for bars to be closed on Mondays.

With the exception pollution or noise issues, if a business is paying rent/mortgage for 24hr/day, 7day/week access to a building - it seems absurd (to me, anyways) for the government to tell them when they’re allowed to conduct business.

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ArcadiaNoakes@reddit

1) as other have said, yes.

2) I liked it when I worked retal and I like it as a shopper. Sunday and Monday until about noon are generally very slow, so as a worker...if half my shift was not busy, that was very little work to get paid for. As a shopper, I can get in and get out during those times as fast as possible.

Aspen9999@reddit

Yes they are. They didn’t used to be decades ago. Then the existence of malls started and stores were open on Sundays and to compete all other stores followed.

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Mayor__Defacto@reddit

Most things are open Sundays. Museums and Restaurants, and Art Galleries etc. often choose Monday and Tuesday to be closed.

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onlyreason4u@reddit

Until COVID a lot of large general sell everything retailers were open 24/7 every day of the year, except maybe Christmas day. It wasn't common for most businesses but if you needed something at 3am on a Wednesday the local Wallmart or pharmacy (the store, not the actual pharmacy within the store as they sell a lot more here) were always open. It would never be busy that late but there was always a few customers in there. Now most stores stopped doing that and you have to drive a few towns over to find something open.

The weekend is the busiest time of the week for retail stores and restaurants, so they are all open on Sunday. Some are closed Monday and Tues instead but most larger ones aren't. Virtually all other businesses are closed on weekends, which is why people shop then.

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PlusPresentation680@reddit

The vast majority of retail businesses are open on Sundays. The U.S. has a work culture that is the exact opposite of the rest of the world. Many retailers continue to stay open on holidays. I used to work at the drug store CVS, which is open every single day. They don’t close for anything including Christmas.

Retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, and others are generally open. Some businesses that are highly religious close on Sundays. And non-public-facing businesses are also closed weekends. Pharmacies are either closed or close early on Sundays.

It is also illegal for dealerships to sell cars in most states on a Sunday. But that law was created because small dealers didn’t want to open seven days per week to stay competitive.

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ABelleWriter@reddit

The US is way to individualized for a simple answer to this.

Federally, stores are allowed to be open whenever they want. We do not police things like that.

At the state/county/city level it's different. Like others said, some places have what are called blue laws. These laws cover what types of stores can be open on Sundays, what times they can be open, and if they can sell alcohol/adult items/etc.

But even if we can be open, we aren't forced to be open. That wouldn't fly in the US. For example it's pretty common where I live for independent stores to be open every day except Tuesday or Wednesday, so the owner and small staff (who are presumably there every day) can have a day off.

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Wadsworth_McStumpy@reddit

For the most part, the government doesn't decide what can be open on any given day. There are exceptions, but those are usually individual states regulating things like bars and liquor stores, not shops in general.

Some stores do close on Sunday, but that's almost always a choice by the owner, not the government.

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ktt1233@reddit

Here in NJ there is a a big city that has what’s called Blue Laws where all stores and businesses are required by law to be closed on Sundays. The only exceptions are hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores although even if you’re shopping at an open “essential” store on Sunday certain retail items still cannot be sold. Everyone loves it bc it’s the one day of the week with less traffic and no people from NYC coming into the area to shop.

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Automatic_Catch_7467@reddit

When I was young a lot of places were closed on sundays, not so much anymore. I don’t think it should be up to the government one way or the other unless it’s something necessary like police ,fire ,hospitals.

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Icy_Huckleberry_8049@reddit

there's a few that might not be, but just about everything is and its NORMAL so people don't think about it.

Where I live in a pretty touristic college town in the mountains west, a lot of small businesses and restaurants close Monday and Tuesday, so they can take advantage of tourists and people coming in for the college games, etc.

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Neither_Pudding7719@reddit

When I was a kid (1970's) many were not. Today, most are. There are just a few large well-known companies who decline Sunday business (Chick Fil A, Hobby Lobby, etc.).

What do people think about it? All kinds of stuff; there are 300M of us. I haven't taken a poll.LOL

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HitPointGamer@reddit

This has been a shift over my lifetime (and honestly, I’m not that old!) but at this point most vendors are open on Sundays. It is convenient for those of us who work because it is nice to be able to shop whenever I need instead of having to flex my own work schedule. On the other hand, I feel bad for shop employees who are forced to work on Sundays and either can’t attend religious services or can’t relax with their families.

I try to do all my shopping on Saturdays so I don’t reward employers for being open on Sundays, but it is nice to have the option available if I need it.

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Where I am in the rural Midwest, there are some smaller shops that are closed on Sundays, but for the most part retail and restaurants are open. It's pretty common for places to have reduced hours on Sunday, but they are still open.

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hitemwita@reddit

Most open like franchises however small businesses where I live are closed a lot. I live in St. Louis MO

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cthulhu944@reddit

When i was a kid back in the 1970s most shops were closed and the ones that were opened were limited on what they could sell. They called the laws that limited businesses "blue laws". Now, most places are open on Sunday, but there are reduced hours in a lot of cases.

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But now, the alcohol law has been repealed and more places are open here on Sundays.

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t-poke@reddit

What's strange is that some places were open on Sundays and closed on Mondays. WTF?

Monday is probably their least busy day, so after the weekend rush they close Monday for a break. Not uncommon for restaurants here to be closed Monday, I don't think it's that strange.

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HiAndStuff2112@reddit

I see. But I was born, raised and lived in Los Angeles for my first 34 years, and I don't think I ever saw a place closed in a Monday that wasn't a holiday. So it is strange to me.

Like not being able to buy spirits in grocery stores and dry counties. I had never heard of "Package stores" for spirits or dry counties before at all.

The move was quite a culture shock for me.

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thekeldog@reddit

Generally, retail is open 7 days a week. Things like mechanics shops, offices, B2B type stuff, are all usually closed on weekends. When most people work Monday through Friday it’s pretty inconvenient to have a bunch of things closed on one of the two free days people would have to get life-related things done.

Basically, businesses try to structure their hours based on when people are most likely to need them. I’m much more inclined to get groceries on a Sunday afternoon than extending my work day to get groceries during the busiest time of the day.

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Unlucky_Let5103@reddit

It really depends on where you live in the US. I grew up in Maine, which is mostly a rural state. Many businesses were closed on Sunday. We also were not allowed to hunt on Sundays either.

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Ok-Problem-9226@reddit

A lot of them are. If they are locally owned shops/restaurants then many of them are closed Monday or Tuesday though.

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Aldi and Lidl are open on Sundays here. Most stores are. There are a few chains that aren't (Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-a, most banks, those are a few that come to mind) and many privately owned businesses take the day off. But most stores are open on Sundays.

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feliniaCR@reddit

Most every retail or hospitality business in the USA is open on Sundays. Many shops may close an hour or two earlier than they do on a Saturday. To Americans, it’s normal. It’s often convenient to be able to run errands on Sundays. The business owners appreciate any extra revenue. The employees take the jobs because they need the money and more open hours = more money. All that said, I think this country is so busy doing things on Sundays that we miss out on time to just enjoy being with friends and family.

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ThroatFun478@reddit

I live deep in the Bible belt. The liquor stores are owned by the state in order to control distribution. They are closed on Sundays. But bars are permitted to open at noon.

As for everything else, it's up to the shop owner. Most mom and pop places close as a day of rest. Chains and places with larger staff like gas stations stay open. We think private businesses being open is convenient and get irritated if we can't run an errand on Sunday.

Also we have a lot of immigrants, so even for big holidays like Christmas and Easter, Hindus, Muslims, and Jewish staff will trade with Christians, who will then take over their important holidays like Yom Kippur or Eid al-Adha. But only very important things like hospitals stay open on Christmas and Easter.

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dinocakeparty@reddit

In the South in the US, it is more likely for things to be closed on Sundays. Especially smaller shops. But grocery stores and other national chains tend to be open.

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CroweBird5@reddit

Almost everything is open on Sunday.

I would say that about 95% of the population would object if stores were closed on Sunday or went back to abbreviated hours.

In college, I worked for a grocery store owned by Delhaize and we were open 7am-11pm on Sunday. I enjoyed working Sunday mornings because it was peaceful and a good time to get things done.

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SpicyMissHiss@reddit

I don’t really understand the protests. Just because a store is open on Sunday doesn’t mean employees get no days off. They would still work the same amount of time. They may even need to hire more employees. If anything it should allow more flexibility for employees. Different employees work different schedules, so their days off could be any day of the week.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

Flexibility here is considered a bit like slavery "must work at the hours that the boss imposes on us" another point committed by students certainly but for people it is a bad idea because students pay less tax and therefore do not participate like others in society

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msackeygh@reddit

Yes, ships today are open on Sundays in the USA

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Outlaw_Josie_Snails@reddit

It depends on the state. It also depends on where within the area you live. Some areas have 'blue laws' that prohibit certain types of stores from being opened on Sundays (such as liquor stores)

I only really complain when stores are open on major holidays though. I think it's a shame to make shift workers work on Thanksgiving and refuse to buy anything on holidays like that.

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Kali-of-Amino@reddit

When I was growing up in the Deep South most towns had "blue laws", laws keeping businesses from opening on Sunday. Those started disappearing in the 80s. Of course, the first town to drop them got all the Sunday business, and after a while they all dropped them. They were gone by the end of the 90s.

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SnooDoodles4452@reddit

North Dakota had blue laws until several years ago that stores couldn't open until either 11 am or noon. We had a hockey tournament there and some parents needed to go to the sports store but we told them they'd have to go to the one in Minnesota because the North Dakota one wouldn't be open yet.

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Wonderful_Setting_29@reddit

Yes, just about everything is open. Other than chick fil a, most Asian restaurants are closed. But stores all tend to be open. I work in a factory and we are working 24 all day everyday, but overtime on weekends is lucrative.

So legally shops had to be closed on Sundays? Thats very odd to Americans. And now they're allowed to be open? As in, its not a requirement that they be open? And people are still upset?

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DeiaMatias@reddit

I'm currently an office worker, but worked retail for most of my 20s. I'm married to a restaurant owner.

The restaurant was closed on Sundays for probably the first 10 years we were open. Then we got hit with a rent hike and honestly couldn't afford to stay closed on Sundays anymore.

Personally, I would 100% support places being closed on Sunday, because everyone deserves time with their family and friends, but there's alot of downstream fallout to that kind of shift that would need to be addressed.

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Zealousideal_Sink420@reddit

I grew up in a state where shops except for grocery stores (food only, the extra stuff was roped off) and gas stations were open. On Sundays. I lived on the border of a state with Sunday openings, so that’s where everyone went on Sundays. In the early 90s, they changed the law and it drastically impacted the stores in that neighboring town to lose the Sunday shoppers.

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pinniped90@reddit

Even in Kansas most things are open Sunday. Liquor sales are limited hours maybe? Can't have people picking up a fifth before church.

Chick Fil A is the big exception.

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Decent-Structure-128@reddit

From the US West Coast here, and it’s my experience that in most urban areas, you can always find some shops that are closed Sundays and others that are open. Major cities often have some stores open 24 hours, 7 Days a week.

In very rural areas, the whole town may be closed on Sundays, it just depends. It also depends on the type of store.

Grocery stores tend to be open more than boutiques. If being open on Sunday brings more revenue, a business will often chose other days to be off. I recently visited some tourist towns where most of the town was closed on Monday and Tuesday so they could be open on the weekends when most people come to visit.

Each state can have different regulations, as can counties and towns.

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forestinpark@reddit

If they could, they would be open on Christmas.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday where everything is closed.

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DocLego@reddit

It depends.

Chain stores are generally open seven days a week, with a few notable exceptions. Certain types of businesses (car lots, alcohol stores) are required to be closed on Sundays in some states.

Mom and pop shops are open whenever the owner feels like it.

The last time a closure tripped me up was a few months ago, I hadn't realized that the Costco pharmacy is closed on Sundays.

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nilecrane@reddit

Depends on the region. National chains are almost always open on Sundays but privately owned stores might be closed if they want to rest or go to a cult meetup

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mst3k_42@reddit

Here in the southeast you’ll see a lot of smaller, independent shops and restaurants closed on Sunday because they’re all going to church.

Also, one time we were in the market for a new car and wanted to go to some dealerships on a Sunday, because we worked 9-5 during the week and sometimes the trip to one of these places goes all day. So I googled…all of them closed on Sunday. Except one. So we went to that one. Bought a car. But seriously, why handicap yourself as a business and be closed on a day you’re likely to get a bunch of customers?

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Left_Ad3575@reddit

When I was a kid in the USA in the 70's, stores were closed on Sundays. I think that ended in the early 90's where I live, but I'm not sure.

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Major_Enthusiasm1099@reddit

Most are and I like it.

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DifferentTheory2156@reddit

Almost everything is open in the US on Sundays. Exceptions are government offices and local ordinances regarding liquor sales.

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WearyThought6509@reddit

No theyre not open, typically, and it is bittersweet. Yes people deserve a day off. Buuutttt with everywhere being closed on Sundays that doesnt give me a day off. I live far enough away (my fault) from everything that it takes 1 full day to do grocery-house shopping and put it away to have time for dinner by 8 and sleep by 11. Sundays, I have to deep clean the house.

It also sucks (and is my fault again) to have a manchild partner.

So... 2x my fault -- im in the wrong.

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ReflectionAble684@reddit

I mean sometimes you need milk and bread on a Sunday.

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the_stupid_Belgian@reddit (OP)

In Belgium, people would say "make the week"

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throwaway05190481@reddit

I haven’t seen many people mention the South in this thread- if you’re in a small southern town, many local shops are closed on Sundays. That’s not including corporate big box stores, but it’s not uncommon for locally owned boutiques, coffee shops, etc. to be closed on Sundays.

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vtmosaic@reddit

Those old religious laws were repealed decades ago here in New England. It's really no one's business but the store owner. I know I appreciate that as a working person, since that doubled the days available to get shopping done.

No one tells the owners they have to stay open either. It's s choice.

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Spare-Anxiety-547@reddit

Yes, most shops are open on Sundays. I used to live in Minnesota and until a few years ago, liquor stores weren't open on Sundays.

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Outrageous_Cow8409@reddit

In general, in my experience, most places are open on Sundays though their hours may be different. Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby are famously closed on Sundays for religious reasons. A lot of repair type shops are closed on Sundays but may still do work on emergencies (plumbing/HVAC) at a higher price. Alcohol only stores are often closed and sometimes even the alcohol section at places like gas stations.

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razzberrytori@reddit

The only blue laws still in my area are for car dealers- they are closed on Sundays in Delaware. Pennsylvania still has more, especially in some counties like Lancaster- most shops will be closed for religious reasons. It’s so much easier to drive to visit my grandmother on Sunday when the tourist towns along the way are all empty 😁

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tardytimetraveler@reddit

A lot of restaurants in Washington are closed Sunday and Monday as their weekend.

Don’t most people in europe have two-income families? When would they be patronizing these shops if not the weekends?

TheEvilOfTwoLessers@reddit

In general the only things closed on Sundays are places with religious ties (owners are religious) or in counties that have archaic religious rules about not being able to open or sell their products on Sundays, like liquor or cars (maybe a sign they know a lot of lies go into selling a car)?

I don’t have feelings about it much one way or another. I usually do my grocery shopping Sunday mornings after I go out for coffee. The coffee house is closed on Mondays, the grocery store is an Aldi, and they close on all holidays.

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Macropixi@reddit

In my area (Massachusetts) yes most stores are open, but they are open for reduced hours. The mall I work in closes at six on Sundays, and the company I work for does pay time and a half to the employees who work on Sundays.

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CrownStarr@reddit

Most shops of any kind are open 7 days a week. Certainly if it’s a national chain or big business (the one famous exception is Chik-Fil-A which closes on Sundays), but even independent places tend to be 7 days unless they’re a very small operation with only a couple employees. For example, in my day-to-day life, the only example I can think of out of the places I use frequently is my pet groomers, which are closed Sunday and Monday.

However, if a business is not open 7 days a week, I’d say Sunday or Saturday+Sunday are by far the most common times for them to be closed.

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sighnwaves@reddit

(NYC) we don't close.

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On_my_last_spoon@reddit

Ever!

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Nothing in America is done for the benefit of anyone who has a net worth less than seven figures, so everything is open all the time to get the most profit possible from overworked employees who's only reason they haven't burned the place down yet is due to high gas prices making that economically unfeasible.

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Character-Bar-9561@reddit

Yeah, not everyone observes Sunday as their Sabbath.

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I_Owe_Suzanner@reddit

Almost everything is open in the US. I respect stores that close on Sunday and would not mind if Sunday shop hours were rolled back a bit. Nothing needs to be open before 10AM on Sunday.

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Illustrious-Tune-532@reddit

used to be common for liquor stores to be closed on Sundays, required by law in many states, but that’s less and less common

small businesses that often have no staff, just the owner, are usually closed on Sundays. dry cleaners, watch repair, barbers, that sort of thing. banks are also closed.

otherwise as others said, retail is mostly open.

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hollowbolding@reddit

depends on where you are, a lot of shops have abbreviated hours on sunday but they're open for a bit. liquor stores in baltimore are usually closed. most food places actually have their day off on monday or tuesday

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FormerlyDK@reddit

When I was young, we had the “blue laws” and most places had to be closed on Sunday. It was awful, especially as a single working mom who had to get all my errand done on Saturday instead of having two days to do them.

Now there are a few places that close on Sunday “for religious reasons”. I refuse to patronize those businesses, like that chicken place previously mentioned.

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No-Mouse4800@reddit

They are open on Sundays just like Saturdays. Most people who work weekends are part-time employees such as students who choose to work those hours. They are not usually the same staff that work all week.

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beans8414@reddit

Most people don’t care but there are some. Chik-fil-a is well known for closing on Sundays because it’s the Lord’s day

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nippleflick1@reddit

When you work 5 days a week and have Sat as ur fun day of the weekend that leaves Sunday and if I need stuff, stores better be open!

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Pretty much everything is open on Sundays. In America we live to work.

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Accomplished_Will226@reddit

Growing up we had “blue law” where every thing was closed on Sunday but now every thing is open.

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StrawberriKiwi22@reddit

Most stores are open on Sundays. The workers don’t have to work 7 days per week; the store just has a schedule of which workers will work on various days, and if you are full time they will schedule you for 40 hours. Depending on the situation, you might have to be flexible to work on weekends sometimes.

Most customers expect that stores and restaurants will be open on Sundays, maybe for shorter hours. We basically expect supermarkets to be open 24/7. Even people who are religious are usually fine with it.

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Sparkle_Rott@reddit

When I was a kid, everything was closed on Sunday. It seemed very normal.

Then Dart Drug started opening on Sunday in the 1970s and would offer certain items for ridiculously low prices to attract shoppers.

Then the competition felt they had to open as well and the race was on.

I love traveling to countries where things are closed on Sunday or even at lunch time. Life isn’t all about me. The people who work these shops have families and should have time with them outside of my needs. It seems so much more relaxed and a more balanced way of life.

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sharkycharming@reddit

These days, nearly all stores are open on Sunday where I live. When I was a child in the 1970s-80s, there were "blue laws" that meant stores had to remain closed on Sunday. There were exceptions (pretty sure grocery stores were still open) but I remember being pretty annoyed that I couldn't go buy more Mad Libs at the bookstore because it was Sunday.

That law ended in Maryland in 1987.

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camicalm@reddit

My grandmother once wrote a funny Letter to the Editor, complaining because the blue laws prevented her from buying a mousetrap on a Sunday.

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Feisty_Water_3164@reddit

In the 1960s and 1970s, most states in the United States had Blue Laws that restricted sales of a lot of things. Thankfully, those have been repealed and you can buy anything but Chik fil a

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HornyCrowbat@reddit

Yes, but just because shops are open seven days a week doesn’t mean workers are working a ton of hours unless they want to. They still have their days off. I never understood the argument for closing them on Sundays outside of religious reasons.

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cdb03b@reddit

Yes. Most people do not think anything about it.

Since non-retail jobs are typically Mon-Friday most shopping is done Sat and Sunday so it is the most logical days to be open. So long as those who worship on Sundays are able to do so we do not care. What days you get off during the week do not really matter much in specifics to anyone but you.

We would also take major issues with government dictating to a business that they are not allowed to operate on any given day. Even major holidays are not mandated days off here save for government jobs and banks.

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No-Lunch4249@reddit

Nearly all businesses are open on Sunday here, so much so that I don't think about it at all.

While the majority of Americans identity themselves as Christians, we don't really adhere to it in public life the same way as Europeans do. Some local governments don't allow alcohol shops to be open on Sunday but thats it.

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BioDriver@reddit

For the most part, but there are parts of the country where the majority of stores will be closed on Sundays

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stephsationalxxx@reddit

It depends on the town. For the most part, most places have stuff opened on Sundays, but some super small towns in the middle of nowhere will have a lot of places closed.

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wiarumas@reddit

Yes, almost everything is open Sunday. Very, very few are closed. Some have shorter hours. And some are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. To put it in perspective, many places remain open even on major holidays.

Most businesses are which is convenient. When my dad was young and worked on Sundays he got time and a half which is apparently no longer a thing. So quality of life keeps going down and Americans keep getting screwed over by corporations

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FunTricky903@reddit

We work to live, we don't live to work

God this slogan is not nearly clever enough to justify how often people use it.

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BusinessWarthog6@reddit

Yes, as a retail worker I hate it. As a customer it’s nice

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TehWildMan_@reddit

It's pretty common for retail/restaurants to open Sundays, although often with reduced hours (some businesses will run largely just one 10 am -6pm shift, or similar hours, instead of opening earlier or staying open later)

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Weary-Astronaut1335@reddit

Just about everything that isn't a small family owned business is open on Sundays.

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Josiahthefox28@reddit

Yes, theyre open on Sundays.

Yes.