Black Friday still a strong day for local retailers

Michael Roknick, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·3 min read

Nov. 24—SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — At mid-morning Friday — Grove City Premium Outlets' parking lot was 99 percent full — then it really got busy.

Shoppers were out in force on Black Friday to snatch up deals wherever they could. Although major retailers have been hawking Black Friday sales since Halloween, the day after Thanksgiving still gets wallets to open.

The Columbia shop in the outlets had a throng scarfing up sales. All ages were represented. Garrett Stabryla, 19, of Slippery Rock was perusing coats.

"I'm buying form my parents, and siblings and a little bit for myself," Stabryla said.

Lynn Behner and some of his family trekked from their Punxsutawney, Pa., home to shop at the outlets for the first time.

"Finding parking was the worst," Behner said. "But the crowds aren't as bad as I thought."

For some, Black Friday shopping is a family tradition.

Winston, he asked his last name not be used, and his wife from Toronto crossed the border to shop, a journey of more than 400 miles.

"This is our third year in a row here," Winston said of Black Friday shopping.

While he didn't talk about prices, there's a strong motivation for Canadians to shop in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State has no taxes on clothing. Ontario has a 13 percent sales tax, according to the Canadian Revenue Agency's website.

There were select members of families who found themselves on their own.

Mary Riggins and her family drove from their Gaston, N.C., home to spend Thanksgiving with relatives in Beaver Falls.

"I'm the only one out shopping today," Riggins said. "Everyone else stayed home."

For her trouble, she, and anyone 21 and over, got to taste free alcohol samples from McLaughlin Distillery, which operated a temporary booth for this day in the food court. The distiller produces bourbon, vodka, whiskey, cordials and other items.

Located in Ohio Township near Sewickley, Pa., it's been four or so years since the distiller has been at the outlets, Jim Plummer, a McLaughlin employee said.

"We have 40 products now," Plummer said. "That's more than double from what we had back then.

Friday was the first day Yinzer In the Grove opened its doors. The business is a partnership with Yinzers In The Burg, owned by Jim Coen, which has a store in Pittsburgh's Strip District, and Ithen Global, a Grove City screenprinting business owned by the Ithen family.

Both stores sell Pittsburgh memorabilia, including sports clothing featuring the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins teams.

"We were here late last night getting everything ready," Gabriel Ithen, a co-owner of the Ithen business, said.

There are still more than a half-dozen small retailers operating at the Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage, which has about three dozen storefronts. JCPenney is the sole survivor of what were three anchor department stores.

In August 2022, Flicore LLC bought the mall and is planning to develop the 54-acre area. Most of the stores have folded or moved elsewhere, and new mall owner is seeking to evict JCPenney after the retailer lost its lawsuit claiming it had the final say in any renovations made to the mall property.

Down the concourse from JCPenney, Maurices, a womens clothing and accessories store, was touting its Black Friday "Buy 1 get 75% off" another item in the store promotion. On Saturday, it's "Buy 1 get 50% off."

"People are buying a lot of Christmas sweaters, sweat shirts and plaids," Destiny Blough, assistant store manager said.