By Claire Sachse
claire.sachse@tryondailybulletin.com

The weather was mild and the mood festive as a steady stream of shoppers, both local and out-of-towner visitors, strolled Rutherford and Trade Streets in Landrum on Black Friday.

Charlotte Hall of Landrum Antiques and Furniture said her store had been “very busy” all day.  “Lots of locals and lots from out of state visiting have come through,” Hall said, adding, “We’ve been very pleased with the traffic.”

Adjacent to the antique store is a small gourmet olive oil shop called Olive and Then Some. Bethene Garrett was working the floor that afternoon and said she had “been real busy.”

“We’ve been very busy. There are lots of people in town,” said Cindy Wessinger of Voyageur’s Antiques, referring to both locals and visitors.

Nettie Musselman at Dutch Country said that she was seeing many people on Black Friday, but they were not Christmas shopping.  “Saturday will be our big day,” Musselman said referring to Shop Small Saturday, or Small Business Saturday. “Today is the big store’s day, and tomorrow is the little guy’s day.”

Linda Howard, owner of Southern Delights, said business had not let up since they opened first thing in the morning.  “It is wonderful to see so many tourists,” she said. Howard was also looking forward to Landrum’s Christmas Stroll, to be held all day Saturday prior to the Light Up Landrum celebration. The stroll and Light Up Landrum has been heavily promoted, Howard said, adding that many Landrum merchants have decided to stay open until 9 p.m. on Fridays in December.

Stephanie Kaneps at Horse and Home said that the morning at her shop was “crazy busy.” “It’s been steady all day long. People weren’t bunching up in lines. I have nothing but good things to say about having the steady stream of shoppers,” Kaneps said.

At Lucy’s Boutique, owner Sonya Dobbins said that she used social media to reach out to her customers to bring them out early for Black Friday specials. She had a line of customers in front of her shop at 7 a.m., waiting to win special gift items and take advantage of limited specials.

“I think people like to shop local,” Dobbins said. Her store had a steady stream of customers until around 4 p.m. when she was able to take a break.

Local shoppers were also looking for jewelry, according to Martha Covington, owner of Covington and Company who noted that the days’ sales included sterling silver earrings and necklaces. “It’s been a good day. It was better than I was expecting. I figured they’d all go to the malls,” said Covington.

At Landrum Hardware, Chris Edwards said that he was impressed with the Black Friday turnout.

“It’s been good from a small business standpoint. Mostly people have been looking for firearms. Several people have inquired if we’re having sales,” Edwards said.

Shawn Evans, owner of Landrum Hardware, said that he saw quite a few tourists throughout the day. Most were men who came in while their wives shopped at other stores in the area.