Last-minute Thanksgiving preparations taking place around the Tri-Cities | WJHL

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Tennesseans across Johnson City are making their last few stops to complete their Thanksgiving to-do list.

Outside of the Shoppes of Franklin, a Johnson City police officer is directing traffic into the parking lot. Many of the cars are making a stop at Honey Baked Ham.

Honey Baked Ham is happy to be trusted for Thanksgiving food from families in the area.

“It’s a tradition for a lot of families,” said owner, Jimmy Fuller. “We have a lot of regular customers who come back year after year and we’re seeing a lot of new ones, so it’s really exciting to be a part of those family gatherings.”

Fuller says they’ve sold over a thousand hams in the last few days.

Honey Baked Ham is closed tomorrow, but open again Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. They’re currently taking orders for Christmas.

At Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop, there was a line waiting outside of the door when they opened this morning at 10 a.m., waiting to pick up their pre-ordered pies.

They say they had over 300 orders placed today by customers happy to let someone else buy the ingredients and do the work.

“The number of people that come in here and they’re like ‘oh it’s so much extra work. It’s so stressful. It’s so nice to know that I’m getting a good pie that’s homemade and I didn’t have to worry about it’,” said general manager, Grace Walters.

Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop will be closed tomorrow for the holiday, but will re-open Friday and Saturday from noon until 5 p.m.

Food City on North State of Franklin Road is packed with people grabbing their fixings for their holiday feasts.

While they’re concerned about getting their last-minute items, a lot of people are looking forward to enjoying that food with family.

“It’s pretty exciting because I’m getting marshmallows,” said Julia Shoun.

The family says these marshmallows are their grandpa’s family famous fruit salad, which is a family favorite.

Another shopper is grabbing ingredients to make salads to bring to her mother’s house.

“My daughter, husband and I are going to my mom’s,” said Kerri Bender. “We’re scattered from California to Virginia so…I wouldn’t give it up for anything. Love my mom.”

Shopper, Lois Peterson, is having 30 people over at her house tomorrow and is grabbing the last few essentials.

“I am the baby of 7 children, so everyone’s coming to our house and it’s a challenge,” said Peterson. “Everybody will bring something, but I still have to get a lot of stuff together.”

The Food City on North State of Franklin Road is open until 11 p.m. tonight. Their holiday hours are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.