WEM does about-face on Remembrance Day hours

West Edmonton Mall is doing an about-face on itsstore opening hours on Remembrance Day.

The mall had given notice to retailers that it would be open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.

For the previous two years, the mall had opened its stores at noon on Remembrance Day.

"We received a lot of feedback and apologize to anyone who felt we were not properly honouring Remembrance Day by opening earlier than in past years," reads a statement from the mall issued on Tuesday.

"After careful consideration, West Edmonton Mall will be reverting back to our noon opening on Remembrance Day, as we have done in previous years."

A post on the mall's Facebook page detailing a Remembrance Day service there had prompted many comments about the earlier opening.

Some people called it "disrespectful." Wendy Piper Kulak was one of them.

She has attended the Remembrance Day service at the mall for years but was considering not attending this year because stores would be open.

The additional noise of shoppers would prove disruptive during the moment of silence, Piper Kulak said.

"I am incredibly happy that they have decided to retract that opening at ten. So we will certainly go to that ceremony and I'm proud of West Edmonton Mall for making that decision," she said Tuesday.