Black Friday shoppers bask in deals, sun, festive atmosphere

Partridge Creek crowd is young, possibly bigger than in 2019, mall manager says

It wasn’t just the potential bargains that brought people — especially young people — to the Mall at Partridge Creek on Black Friday.

Shoppers enjoyed a sunny warm day and social interaction as they trekked amid the 89 stores and restaurants at the Clinton Township outdoor mall.

Jody Moir of Macomb Township was joined by her mother, sister, niece and nephew for a Partridge Creek excursion that was to be followed by dinner at Smokey Bones at Hall and Schoenherr roads in Shelby Township.

Moir said she does most of her shopping online but during the holidays enjoys visits to the stores, she said as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” played over the mall’s sound system.

“During the holidays I look to shop in person, the connection, be out with people, to see things in person, get ideas; coming out of COVID, back to normalcy,” she said.

She bought a sweater and jacket from the Versona store as Christmas gifts for herself.

The crowd on Friday was dominated by shoppers in their teens and 20s, some clad in only a sweat shirt and pants, as well as families, with children climbing and sliding in the play area under the watchful eye of their parents.

General manager Melissa Morang attributed it to many of the stores catering to teens though the mid-30s.

“We have a lot of young shoppers but also a lot of families and couples,” she said. “The restaurants are full as people make a day of it, go shopping then out to eat.”

She said Friday was not surprisingly busier than the past two years, when in-store shopping was dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic, but believes it was busier than in 2019.

“Partridge Creek is a great place to be especially when we’re having great Michigan weather like we’re having today,” she said. “Many of our stores are having such great deals this holiday season.”

Among the busiest were stores offering valuable bargains such as Bath & Body Works, which had a “buy three, get three free,” offer and other stores such as Lululemon, American Eagle, Buckle and Dry Goods due to deals, she said.

The mall has 10 new stores this year and last week added a Cuban-Columbian cuisine restaurant, Sabor Latino.

Shoppers Kennedy Thomas and Laura Acorn, both 20-year-olds from Macomb Township, were home on break from Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University, respectively, and got together to peruse the stores and “catch up,” Thomas said.

“I’ve come out (for Black Friday) quite a few times the last few years,” Thomas said. “Today is nice out, sunny. It’s not super cold like it usually is around this time in Michigan. I think that it kind of coerced me to come out.”

“We’re shopping for family,” Acorn said. “We’re in college; it helps being Black Friday. And it’s nice to have interaction with people after all the online stuff. I like having the social interaction, being able to see it (the product) in person, try on what I want to try on so I don’t have to send it back.”

The pair’s shopping excursion, fueled with Starbucks coffees, included gifts of all kinds.

“I got a satin button-up for my mom, earrings, a little jacket type thing and a little bag, all for other people but the bag might be for me. We’ll see,” Thomas said.

“I bought something for my mom, then I got something for me, a cute sweater dress,” Acorn said. “It is cute.”

While many mall patrons toted bags of gifts, Donya Augustine of Sterling Heights and Natalya Shokouri of Shelby Township, who was accompanied by her sister, Noelle, gripped leashes to walk their noodle dogs, brothers “Mickey” and “Oliver.”

“We’re just walking around enjoying the atmosphere,” Augustine said, adding they may pop into a store or two.

Partridge Creek also has 24 small-business stores that will be designated with signs for Small Business Saturday, some of them offering special deals, Morang said

For those wishing to visit Santa Claus, the Jolly Old Elf is available daily through Christmas Eve, including the week of Dec. 5 when people can get photos of their dog with Santa.