There’s nothing worse than a rumble in your stomach while you’re trying to focus on the hard task of shopping Black Friday or Thanksgiving sales. Maybe you left that plate of turkey and stuffing to get cold and congealed on the table in favor of scoring the best deals. Since many mall stores will be open on earlier on Thanksgiving this year, so will plenty of food court restaurants.

It isn’t just shoppers who need sustenance to survive the holiday shopping bonanza, but the workers who have to be on the job while the mall or store is crowded. And because many restaurants inside malls have a requirement to be open when the mall is, some eateries don’t have a choice.

CNBC says the earlier hours can boost volume at some stores, which in turn can give sales a shove upward as well.

“We saw that sales went up—volume on Black Friday was up 9.04 percent,” Bill Dunn, the pretzel chain’s president and chief operating officer tells CNBC.com. “When I look at the analytics, I find that it’s incremental growth.”

Around 38 million people are expected to dine and dash off to shop some more, according to a recent National Restaurant Association survey, which is a six million person increase from 32 million who planned to eat out on Black Friday in 2011.

It won’t be all bad for workers — for example, Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon will offer employees higher wages and catered meals for workers who have to be on the clock on Thanksgiving.

And anyone who has to work anywhere on Black Friday can drop in to Seattle’s Best Coffee and receive a free coffee for their hard work.

Because these restaurants don’t have door-buster sales or other big promos to draw shoppers in, some franchisees aren’t too please about opening early but will do so because there’s money to be made.

“It should be a day for family—that’s my feeling, but I also have to pay bills,” one Cinnabon franchisee says. “My rent doesn’t change, and [my employees] have to pay bills too.”

Restaurants target Thanksgiving shoppers…will they bite? [CNBC.com]

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