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Letter to the editor

Shining a little light on Black Friday

By SHARON TUBBS, City Times Editor
Published November 23, 2007

It's Black Friday, folks, so let the race to WestShore and International malls begin!

This is the day that normal people - people who made fun of the parents camped outside for days to win free Hannah Montana tickets - will actually arrive at JCPenney at 4 a.m. for a discount on a comforter set with shams.

If you're like me, you love the shopping but dread the crowds and the parking - should you be lucky enough to find any.

I used my press credentials to get insider secrets on how to find quick, easy mall parking this weekend. In the spirit of holiday cheer, I share them with you.

International Plaza

-Arrive today between 8 and 11 a.m.

The mall opens at 8 a.m., although Dillard's opens earlier, at 7 a.m. Most people who come to International plan their shopping around dining, so few show up before lunchtime.

"We are not a morning center and never have been for Black Friday," said Nina Mahoney, the mall's marketing manager. "I've worked every Friday after Thanksgiving, and I can tell you, it doesn't get busy until after 11."

-Splurge on the $5 valet parking.

Valet is at the entrance to Bay Street near the Cheesecake Factory and the Capital Grille.

If you plan to do lots of shopping, this is a good option because the valets will bring your car around so you can get rid of bags and continue shopping.

-Even for latecomers, International promises more parking than in years past.

The mall has arranged to shuttle its employees to and from the parking lot at nearby Jefferson High School, freeing up about 1,000 spaces for shoppers, Mahoney said. International has 6,000 parking spaces, more than any other shopping mall in the Tampa Bay area, she said.

WestShore Plaza

-Get there really early.

(If you've waited long enough for this paper to arrive on your doorstep, chances are you've already missed some bargains.) The mall officially opens at 7 a.m., but several stores open earlier, including JCPenney at 4, Sears and Old Navy at 5, and Macy's at 6. Some stores in the food court open early, too. So a predawn arrival is perhaps the best way to get one of the mall's 5,000 or so parking spaces.

-If you do wait for a reasonable shopping hour, think parking garage, upper deck.

WestShore has three garages with staircases that end at entrances of anchor department stores or near those entrances.

Many shoppers circle the parking lot looking for a space, but fail to venture to the third level of a parking garage. There, marketing director Kristy Genna said, are the parking gold mines.

Or there's a third shopping option - I suppose.

It seems Westfield Brandon mall is making a pitch for people in the Channel District and Harbour Island to shop there.

"We're as close as any other shopping destination for them, especially with the Crosstown [Expressway], and we share a lot of retailers now with some of the other Tampa Bay market centers," Laurie Goldman, Westfield's senior general manager, told my colleague Ernest Hooper this week.

She noted several of the mall's offerings: the Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen opening in December, and a new wing that includes Swarovski, Teavana, Tilly's and Dick's Sporting Goods. Westfield also will add a Coach store early next year.

No word on the parking situation there, but if you're feeling adventurous ...

So there you are, now armed with a few tips that could help make the start of your shopping season bright. Just keep my generosity in mind if you find yourself competing for a space with a four-door burgundy Mazda 626 outside Macy's today.

[Last modified November 21, 2007, 08:02:49]