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NOVATO, Calif. (KTVU) - Grocery stores are seeing some of their busiest days of the year, leading up to Thanksgiving on Thursday.
"We're restocking all day long, " Costco's Kirt DiSalvo told KTVU, showing a thirty foot cold case full of turkeys, replenished frequently.
"And exciting for us this year, we have fresh dungeness crab, which we didn't have last year," added DiSalvo.
The Novato store, which DiSalvo manages, will sell $25,000 worth of crab this week.
It will also send 3,200 pumpkin pies home with shoppers.
Thanksgiving also uncorks the biggest month of the year for wine and spirits, from now through New Years Day.
But beginning the day after Thanksgiving, shoppers will shift toward gifts, and away from food.
"Maybe a little bit of replenishing the refrigerator after the holiday," observed DiSalvo, "but most of it is non-foods after Thanksgiving, so this is a big food week for us, huge."
At United Market in San Rafael, grocery aisles were busy Tuesday evening.
"We're having turkey, mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms," described shopper Beth Kalan of San Rafael, of her menu.
After a hiatus from cooking Thanksgiving dinner, Kaplan will feed eleven guests this year.
"I love it. I'm excited everybody's coming to my house," she told KTVU.
The last item to go into her cart: the bird, which she knows can be tricky.
"There's that balance, between just perfect, and dry," Kaplan observed, "and then one year, we did it undercooked. And I forget why we did it that way, but it was a nightmare."
More popular every year? Ready-made dinners with all the trimmings, just heat and eat, offered by many markets.
"I believe a good amount of them do, and we've done it for years and years," United's Head Clerk Josh Hailer told KTVU.
"It's a good feature, convenient, and there's no shame not cooking it yourself!"
The average number of calories consumed at the Thanksgiving feast is 4,500.
"On Christmas, you eat, but on Thanksgiving, it's all you can eat!" smiled Hailer.
At Costco, shopper Dan Daniels of San Rafael was selecting ribs to prepare alongside the turkey.
"I only eat turkey once a year," he admitted.
Daniels said he was looking forward to seeing his grown children: grateful for them, and good health.
"We have a lot to be thankful for," mused Daniels, "and I want people to be grateful for what they have, love and health. We live in one of the greatest countries in the world."