Grant County businesses do well on 'Black Friday'

Most business see increased sales, customers

GRANT COUNTY - People lined up on "Black Friday" to get into RadioShack in Moses Lake before it opened its doors at 6 a.m.

The day after Thanksgiving is considered "Black Friday," on the idea that businesses operating in debt (red ink) could become profitable for the year (black ink) based on the sales from the post-holiday weekend.

"It was a great day for us," said Rick Rodriguez, the store's co-owner. "(The customers) were going after a few items that we had on special … The biggest thing for us was (global positioning systems)."

RadioShack was one of several stores in Grant County reporting higher sales this year on "Black Friday" compared to last year.

Rodriguez said sales were up $7,000 for the day and $12,000 for the weekend.

"The whole year we've had sales gains," he said. "I don't think Moses Lake is being affected by the (national economy.)"

Sue Torrence, the owner of Sue's Gift Boutique in Moses Lake, said the day was unbelievable. While people weren't waiting for her to open up at 9 a.m., it didn't take long for people to start coming in.

She opened the store an hour earlier than normal, she said. People came in to purchase the items she had on sale, such as ladies apparel, and boxed Christmas cards.

"Sales were up quite a bit from last year," she said. "The way they've been talking about (the economy) is kind of scary."

Business is still busy for Torrence. She said she is planning to hold a wine tasting on Dec. 18 and will be open until 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays and will be open on the two Sundays before Christmas.

"We've been busy today and Saturday was great," she said. "Hopefully we do what we did last year and a dollar more."

"Black Friday" was a surprise for Sharon Van Woert, the owner of the Olde World Trading Company, who said normally the business doesn't see a lot of business on the day after Thanksgiving.

"We are pretty much consistent for every year for the last 25 years," she said. "When people come in on Friday, we expect it to be quiet, but we were unusually busy this year."

Van Woert said the business usually starts their Christmas sales on Dec. 1, but they were so happy by the turn out she decided to offer 20 percent off on Friday. They plan on being open on from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays during December, along their normal Tuesday through Saturday hours, she said.

"We're just going to keep doing what we've always done," Van Woert said.

Stephanie Hawkins, owner of The Bookery Bookstore in Ephrata, said they also saw increased crowds during the day and did much better than last year. The store didn't have a sale.

"We were busy the entire day … Saturday was real busy too," she said. "People are being really conscious of supporting their local businesses and we appreciate that."

Quincy's Ace Hardware also saw record sales, Closing Manager Angel Ramirez said. The store has a steady stream of customers coming in.

"We did hit a sales record even compared to the old store," he said. "We had little rushes in the mid-afternoon and some at night … A lot of the older generation have said they are looking forward to shopping in town."

While Tri State Outfitters did see a small dip in this year's sales, Sandy Keller, the store's manager, said it had more to do with the weather than the economy.

"Our business is weather related and we haven't had our winter weather yet," she said. "We're one of the only places to get good quality weather gear."