Black Friday crowds cram into Black Sheep
Makenna Lindhurst conducts crowd control as Bath and Body Works in the Silver Lake Mall fills to capacity on Black Friday. Customers line up outside the store for once a year deals on gifts for the family, like buy-three-get-three-free, or 20% off in-store purchases.
Josa Snow
Candy Taranto, left, and Hailey Robb pile their cart with games and toys for the kids and grandkids at the Fred Meyer in Coeur d'Alene. The buy-one-get-one-free deal on games and the 40% sale on Legos made Fred Meyer their one-stop shop on Black Friday.
Susan Segsworth, left, gathers her new treasures on a Silver Lake Mall bench after spending the morning finding the best Black Friday deals with Ana Segsworth.
COEUR d’ALENE — Parking lots were packed and checkout lines were long throughout Coeur d’Alene on Black Friday, as shoppers sought the best deals for everyone on their Christmas lists.
Thousands of people had reportedly streamed through the Silver Lake Mall by noon — and the place had only been open for two hours.
Among the shoppers was Melissa Gigler, who said she got a late start this year at 6 a.m. She and her family hit Fred Meyer first, then went to Macy’s, Target and Life is Good in search of the biggest deals. But Gigler was disappointed to find fewer early bird sales than she’d hoped.
“It’s just not the same,” she said.
Candy Taranto and Hailey Robb started shopping online all week, but they went to Fred Meyer around noon for toys for the grandkids. The buy-one-get-one-free sale on games, and 40% off sale on Lego made Fred Meyer their one-stop-shop for Black Friday.
“There aren’t doorbusters like there used to be,” Robb said. “Before, back in the day, you could get up at 5 a.m. for doorbusters, but we’re not doing that anymore. But we’re not buying big things like TVs. We’re just buying toys.”
Elsewhere in the Silver Lake Mall, lines spanned the length of JOANN Fabric and Crafts. At Bath and Body Works, the store became too crowded to let everyone in. But discounts of up to 20% off and buy-three-get-three-free were enough to keep people in line to get inside.
“There’s been hundreds of people, maybe thousands,” said Bath and Body Works employee Makenna Lindhurst.
Black Sheep tempted shoppers with deals on rifles and pistols, as well as ammo, powder and exploding targets.
“It’s been a madhouse,” said Black Sheep employee Brandon Chafé.
Susan Segsworth of Coeur d’Alene skipped early bird deals this year.
“We didn’t need any small appliances or anything,” she said. “I got a vest for my husband, a shirt for my daughter, and one for me — that my husband’s going to give me.”
She was shopping with Ana Segsworth, who snagged a woodsy shower curtain. The pair said they felt lucky about the deals they found this year.
“We started at about 8 a.m. and we’re just about done," Ana Segsworth said.
