Shoppers make their rounds inside the Manhattan Town Center Friday morning. (Staff photos by Brady Bauman)
While places like Walmart and Best Buy saw big crowds Thursday evening, the official Black Friday national shopping event went into motion Friday morning in Manhattan.
“It’s pretty exciting, we’re seeing a lot of traffic now here later in the morning,” Manhattan Town Center Marketing Director Jeff Sutton told KMAN. “It started out a little slow right away, but the weather can do that and we expected some bad weather — thankfully it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
“But we’re seeing a good increase in traffic now and throughout the day.”
Felix Preciado, who was in the mall with his family, said they were in the Little Apple area visiting military friends.
Preciado was stationed at Fort Riley last year and now lives in Houston, Texas.
He said the shopping is less crowded in Manhattan and while they were in the mall, they also took the opportunity for his littlest to get his first photo with Santa Claus.
Santa Claus was busy Friday morning in the Manhattan Town Center as shoppers took part in Black Friday.
When asked what his youngest son wants for Christmas, Preciado had a humorous answer.
“The same thing his mom wants, which is everything,” he joked.
Sutton said said he’s optimistic about this year’s holiday shopping season.
“We’re looking to a good season this year,” he said. “Our tenants are prepared and ready for the holidays and we have a lot of nice and diverse shopping opportunities for folks in the Manhattan area.”
And speaking of the aforementioned elderly and jolly gentleman in the red garb, Sutton said he’d arrived just hours ago.
“Santa made his grand entrance this morning, and he’s here on his extended stay from the North Pole,” Sutton said. “Santa will be here everyday till Christmas Eve. It’s the only place in the area where Santa will be available.”
Sutton also mentioned Operation Yellow Ribbon, which will be Dec. 12 and 13.
“It’s a special weekend that we offer discounted merchandise and special opportunities for our military families,” he said.
Looking ahead, Sutton said construction for the Town Center’s new theater is on schedule for its Fall 2016 opening.
The former entrance to the Sears store in the Manhattan Town Center advertises the eventual opening of the mall’s new IMAX theater.
“A year from now we’ll be talking about what’s playing at the movies and what’s playing on the IMAX screen,” he said. “Things are on schedule and we’re looking really good.”
