For example, Brenda Romero, spokeswoman for JC Penney stores, said, "We decided to keep our store open on Sundays because many of our customers can only do their shopping on Sundays."

She adds, "Since our customers are our No. 1 priority, and also one of our priorities is to provide convenience to our customers, we decided it was just the best thing for us to do. It is something we do nationwide unless there is some kind of mall regulation that keeps us from opening on Sunday."

When Dan's Foods chose to open its stores on Sundays in 1992, chairman Dan S. Gardiner Jr. said then that the chain had long remained closed "because of my deeply held conviction that Sunday has been set aside as a day for rest and worship."

However, he said, "It became clear there is a wide difference between my perception of Sundays and that of a majority of our customers."

Dan's said surveys it conducted in 1992 indicated nearly two-thirds of its Utah customers sometimes shop for groceries on Sunday — as did 56 percent of Dan's customers. So when it was closed on Sundays, Dan's customers went elsewhere.

"In this extremely competitive market, this puts Dan's at a significant disadvantage," Dan's Vice President Dan Parris said at the time. "It is also an inconvenience to those local Dan's shoppers who, for whatever reason, choose to shop on Sundays."

Those who close

While the large majority of retailers in Utah are open Sundays, several still choose to close.

Some major retailers that close all their Utah stores are: Allen's Super Save Markets, Chick-fil-A, Christensen's Department Stores, Deseret Book, Dressed in White, Franklin Covey, Furniture Warehouse, John Paras Furniture, Macey's (food stores), Mr. Mac, R.C. Willey furniture, Seagull Books and Winegar's Supermarkets.

Also, University Mall in Orem and Salt Lake City's ZCMI Center are closed on Sundays.

The ZCMI Center and Deseret Book are owned by the LDS Church, which urges members not to shop on Sundays. Businesses such as Dressed in White and Seagull Books also almost exclusively target active LDS members.

However, Salt Lake City's Crossroads Plaza, which the LDS Church recently purchased, is open on Sundays. (Taubman Centers — one of the nation's largest retail developers — announced this week that it is also buying into those downtown malls.)

LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills said Crossroads is currently open on Sundays because of "contractual obligations from leases signed under previous Crossroads ownership. ZCMI Center, constructed and continuously owned by church-affiliated businesses, has always been closed on Sundays."