Black Friday is upon us, and local businesses are getting ready

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - With Thanksgiving here, that means Black Friday is upon us. Black Friday is known for long lines and customers raiding store shelves for deals they can only find once a year.

Some people in Toledo say they don’t plan on partaking in Black Friday this year.

“I’ve been shopping the sales all year long, so I don’t really need to,” says Heather Dunzweiler. “Anything I’m doing I’m planning to do online. I don’t have any desire to fight the crowds.”

Many retail stores, like Target and Walmart, are opting out of opening their doors on Thursday night to give their employees an opportunity to enjoy the holiday with their family and friends. Kristen Schira Lazoff, says that’s a good move.

“I used to love to go out shopping, mostly in the morning on Black Friday,” says Lazoff. “I like the fact that they got rid of the whole Thursday night, Thanksgiving night, where you have to go rush out after your turkey dinner.”

Some people also say the pandemic is also still a concern.

“It’s been more difficult just because you don’t want to be as close to people with social distancing,” says Lazoff.

Although some people are not planning on shopping, stores around the area are readying the shelves, especially small businesses. The Sylvania Toy Company says small businesses often offer items you can’t find elsewhere.

“We have a lot of unique one-of-a-kind items that you can’t see around at the big box places,” says Elle Spare, the owner of The Sylvania Toy Company. “We have a lot of things that bring back nostalgia for people, we have toys from your childhood. Things like He-Man, Star Wars, and G.I. Joe. We even have Lego sets that aren’t in the stores a lot of the time.”

Megan Aherne, the manager at Handmade Toledo, says there are other advantages to shopping local on Black Friday than getting exclusive items. She says it keeps money in the community.

“Shopping at small businesses year-round is so crucial to support our community economically and here we have over 200 artists in our shop and many of them are local,” says Aherne. “So it’s directly supporting our community with your support of small business.”

If you don’t want to take part in Black Friday, stop by a small business on Saturday for deals on Small Business Saturday.

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