Last-minute shoppers stock up for Thanksgiving dinner
NORWALK, Conn. - Thanksgiving shoppers are out gobbling up supplies on the day before the holiday.
Stew Leonard's tells CBS2 this will be its busiest Thanksgiving season ever at its stores in New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut.
CBS2's Tony Aiello checked in with shoppers to see what's on their last-minute list.
There was a crush of carts, a plethora of pies, and can we talk turkey? Stew Leonard's will sell more than 2,000 per store in the run-up to Thanksgiving.
"We feel like since the pandemic and everything, families are coming back together, bigger gatherings, and we're seeing that here with over 4,000 catering orders," said Britt Tavello of Stew Leonard's.
Each order comes with a bag of snowball rolls - the chain bakes 250,000 for the holiday.
Many in Norwalk were grabbing last-minute missing ingredients.
"Sour cream and cheddar cheese, Italian bread," said shopper Angie Oboy. "Yeah, a little hodgepodge."
In New Rochelle, grocery store owner Jose Filipe said many of his customers cook with a soul food approach, so fatback and other ingredients are popular last minute items.
"Stuffing, roasting pans, collard greens," said Filipe.
Kevin Miller will be making sweet potato pie. His secret ingredient?
"It's all love! That's all I'm gonna give 'ya," he said.
At Aiello's house, the table is set for 11 people, and everything they serve will be made from scratch, with one exception - Thanksgiving hack that's apparently shared by a lot of families - heat and eat mashed potatoes are really good, and really popular. They were sold out at two stores the Aiellos visited this week.
Adrienne Cole says there's no shame in a time-saving shortcut.
"No, no, no. Anything goes. As long as people are happy, that's all," Cole said.
What's on the table is important. Who's around the table, even moreso. Come hungry, and be thankful.