Buyers, Businesses Take Advantage of Black Friday

Waking up early isn't Naperville resident Kimi Jalali's favorite thing to do, but it’s no problem when Black Friday rolls around.

The senior excitedly drove to Aurora's Fox Valley Mall at 6 a.m. and shopped for five hours to get the best deals on clothes, lotion, necklaces and accessories. 

Jalali who was perusing the shops in Downtown Naperville Friday afternoon said she loves Black Friday shopping and searching for Christmas presents for herself and others.

resident Sarah Rooney also is a regular Black Friday shopper, but she and her mom Bridget are not up early and out the door. The pair does not start hitting the stores until 3 p.m. to "recover from their Thanksgiving food comas," the pair said.

Rooney, junior speech-language pathology major at Northern Illinois University, said she loves Black Friday shopping if it’s later in the day. Rooney and her mother were also taking in the deals in Downtown Naperville Friday afternoon.

“I think it’s exciting when you go later and it’s less stressful,” Rooney said. “I don’t like trying to beat people out to grab the best deal. Going later, I can browse and not worry if everything I want has been purchased already.”

Rooney stopped at a number of stores including a few in Bolingbrook and also went to , where she said she found a great deal on a value meal, which included steaks and pork chops, among other items and was $59.99 with free shipping.

Curits Stelter, a senior theater major at , went into the video game store  along Main Street in Downtown to take advantage of the store’s buy two used games, get one free deal.

He was doing a little personal shopping on Black Friday.

"I'm hoping to get Star Wars: The Old Republic for a good deal," Stelter said. “I’m a big Star Wars nerd. If it has the logo on it, I will at least try it.”

On Black Friday businesses are hoping all the green shoppers spend, puts them in the black financially and this year the day was beneficial for many area businesses. , experiences significant traffic during the holiday season and saw many shoppers Friday.

“We’ve had a really good fall and had significant traffic in the store today,” manager Meg Landek said. “We’ve had many out of town visitors.”

While furniture may not be the first thought on some shoppers minds, for others the holidays are a time to refresh, Landek said.

“People are looking around their homes trying to make their rooms more updated for visitors and relatives,” Landek said. “We sell a lot of end tables, lamps and more for people to put a little extra in a room.”

Business was brisk at , said General Manager Jann Davies. The store had a number of Black Friday specials and other specials that will continue through the holiday.

“I would say there are 30 to 40 percent more customers than on a normal day,” Davies said about Black Friday. “[During] the holiday season, we make 40 to 50 percent of our sales for a year.”