After planning to remain open for Thanksgiving Day to give cooks of Massachusetts a last minute resort it seems Whole Foods’ plans have been squashed by competitor Shaw’s.

An employee of Shaw’s caught wind of Whole Foods plan and told corporate, who in turn asked their legal department to investigate. Apparently Massachusetts has a law dating back to the 1600s requiring all stores, except convenience stores and gas stations, to close on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Shaw’s legal department wrote the following to state attorney general Thomas Reilly, “We believe that allowing Whole Foods to open on Thanksgiving Day will create an unlevel playing field for all other retail grocers. Besides disadvantaging competitors, a Whole Foods opening would harm consumers, due to lack of choice in the marketplace for consumers to shop and compare prices for the best deal.”

Reilly has forced Whole Foods to remain closed for Thanksgiving Day.

David Lannon, president of Whole Foods Market’s North Atlantic Region, said working on Thanksgiving was voluntary and workers would have received double pay. Nonetheless all 14 Whole Foods stores located in Massachusetts will be closed on Thanksgiving day.

Lannon stated, “We’re not going to break the law. If the law says we’ll have to be closed, we have to be closed.”