From mammoth malls to quaint mom and pops, area shoppers went hunting for deals during the holiday weekend. The day after Thanksgiving marks Black Friday, a time to work off those mashed potatoes and start stocking up on gifts for the season. We spent the day with bargain hunters from Lutz to Zephyrhills.
Stories and photos by Tammy Sue Struble
Wells gets early start
Trayci Wells, owner of Little Stella’s Boutique in the Dupree Plaza in Land O’ Lakes, creates made-to-order gift baskets like diaper cakes, baby shower baskets and princess baskets for girls.
She was working on a Grinch child’s holiday basket on Friday. Her shop specializes in upscale kids’ brand name consignment and boutique clothing from baby sizes up to size 14–16.
Trayci got up at 3 a.m. and went to Target and Walmart … not looking for anything specific. “Every year I say I’m not going to do it (Black Friday shopping) again, but I do it anyway! Sometimes you can get really good deals!”
Then, she went to Kmart and Radio Shack and was home by 9 a.m. to get ready to come in and work at her shop. She stated that usually the big ticket items are already gone when she gets to the larger retail stores and admitted that, “The two-day sale is better than the 5–11 a.m. sales.”
Big savings on a wallet
Aggie and Artie DeVirgilio of Land O’ Lakes were at their last stop before home, Franklin Jewelers in the Collier Commons shopping center in Land O’ Lakes. They started shopping around 9:30 a.m. with stops at Bealls, Office Depot and Target.
“It was crazy at Bealls! Lines were really long,” Artie determined. “Target was really good.” She was excited about saving around $75 total at Bealls, and was especially proud of a $24 savings on a wallet.
Half-price Christmas dress
Near Ulta Beauty in the Grove at Wesley Chapel, Mariah Samia of Land O’Lakes was shopping for Christmas gifts for her three Chihuahuas at PetSmart with her mom. It was her first experience with Black Friday shopping. They had spent three hours at Kohl’s in Lutz and stood in a line that was all the way to the back of the store. Why wait?
“I got a really pretty dress for Christmas!” Mariah said. “It was a good deal: half price!”
Her mother said they don’t normally shop on Black Friday because it is so crazy, but they were going to shop until they dropped or at least until they were too tired and hungry. The Samias agreed that most people were jolly. “Only a few were impatient or rude,” observed Mariah.
Waiting for the rush
At Princess Boutique in the VanDyke Commons shopping center in Lutz, employee Lisa Miller was preparing for the afternoon rush on Black Friday. According to Miller, Black Friday shoppers typically hit the big store sales in the morning, and then get to the smaller businesses in the afternoon. The boutique offers “unique ladies apparel and accessories.”
Michela and Chad Mollick of Wesley Chapel don’t normally shop Black Friday but were at Home Goods in Lutz later on Friday morning with their daughter Sophia, 22 months. Michela explained, “We contemplated (Black Friday) shopping before seeing lines. We drove by Toys “R” Us and Best Buy (Thursday) around 9 p.m. and already saw long lines.” They decided not to try the early, early morning shopping.
Sales beautiful at Ulta
Ulta Beauty in The Grove of Wesley Chapel shopping center opened their doors at 6 a.m. Erin Norris of Dade City, a manager at Ulta, said that sales were up compared to last year’s Black Friday. At 1 p.m. over 50 percent of their day was in and Ulta wasn’t closing their doors until 9 p.m. “We have had a line of 10-20 people (at the registers) continually since opening at 6 a.m.,” Norris smiled. The Ulta blockbusters, fragrances, gift sets, and 5 for $5 stocking stuffers were “flying out the door.”
Stuck behind five carts
Black Friday shopper Luis Galarza, pictured with son Brandon, spent the day finding deals around Zephyrhills with his family. One stop — the Bealls Outlet on Allen Road. The outlet store opened its doors at 6 a.m. luring holiday shoppers with huge doorbuster specials, 70 percent off clearance prices, 50 percent off Christmas for the home, and 15 percent off everything storewide on their Friday Club for everyone (Black Friday only).
On his first trip, Galarza explained he, “Had to park way in the back in the parking lot. Then, got behind a lady in checkout line with five shopping carts!” However, he was happy that he had found a great deal at Bealls Outlet on a PlayStation 3 and Guitar Hero game.
His family did not enjoy their Walmart experience stating they would, “Never do Walmart again for Black Friday.”
Bealls ringing in Zephyrhills
Sheila Thompson, manager of the Bealls Outlet store on Allen Road in Zephyrhills, said the economy may be in a little better shape this year compared to last year. “We had four registers going since 6 a.m.” The store still had already passed 2009’s Black Friday totals around 5 p.m. and weren’t closing their doors until 10 p.m.
‘Definitely not’ again
Nathan n Jaclyn
After two-hours of shopping, Nathan Hunter and Jaclyn “Niki” Rice of Dade City left the long checkout line they were in around 2 a.m. at the Zephyrhills Walmart and had the customer service/returns counter check them out instead. Finished, they said they would “definitely not” do the midnight thing again.
Talked into going by daughter
Hazel Carmona was shopping in Dade City at Williams Fashion Center on Seventh Street, which also houses Lunch On Limoges. “I don’t go out on Black Friday,” explained Carmona, “I usually pretty much stay in!” Yet, her daughter talked her into going to Dade City — they figured it would be less chaotic. They were happy with their choice.
Phil Williams, owner / operator of the store and restaurant, stated that the, “Lunch side was a little busier than normal.” And, saw an increase in the number served compared to Black Friday last year. He was hoping that the Small Business Saturday campaign will help his clothing and dry goods business … and help other local small businesses. The small business campaign, started by American Express, follows Black Friday in effort to send customers to the smaller retailers.
