ELLENTON- Now that Thanksgiving dinner plates have been cleared, today there is one thing on people’s minds.
“Christmas shopping!” said Elizabeth Husband.
Long lines couldn’t keep the shoppers away. People filled Ellenton Premium Outlets late Thanksgiving night and all day Black Friday, looking for a good deal.
“It’s like holiday spirit,” said George Matthews. “We want to enjoy the day, number one. And number two, there are some savings too, so we want to take advantage of that too.”
Matthews was shopping with his wife and says they’ll be shopping for hours.
“We went to the Coach Store and also Michael Kors,” said Matthews. “She’s doing her shopping and I’m helping her and we will be going to most of the stores.”
After crowds hunted down a parking spot, they hunted for the best sales.
“It’s been good,” said Husband. “We’ve found some really good deals, better than we thought actually.”
Ellenton’s General Manager, Zach Runnels says they plan on being busy all weekend long.
“We have a my park app that you can book ahead of time for traffic, so you can come in you have a spot already reserved, so you’re good to go you can walk right on in,” said Runnels. “We have flaggers to try to make traffic move a little bit smoothly. We have additional ambassadors on site to help you try and find that store a little bit quicker.”
Weaving through the crowds, shoppers say it’s all a part of the Black Friday experience.
“It’s fun for me, because I like shopping,” Nairobi Soriano.