Port Washington Businesses Kick Off Busy Weekend With Black Friday

A calm and sunny morning set the tone for shoppers looking to take a relaxing stroll through downtown Port Washington, while they shopped at local businesses on Black Friday.

Several downtown stores opened with a variety of discounts for shoppers.

opened at 8 a.m. Friday, two hours earlier than its normal store hours.

“We usually don’t open until 10 a.m., but we decided to open at 8 a.m. today, just so that if people were kind of finishing up their big box shopping they could catch us when they were done,” said co-owner Melissa Suddendorf.

The store is kicking off its first birthday celebration with different sales each hour on Friday and Saturday. The festivities includes a raffle for shoppers.

“We’ve got some really fun raffle prizes… We went and bought gift cards from other local businesses, so we’re doing those as our raffle prizes to try and keep everybody downtown,” Suddendorf said.

Besides the variety of gifts offered there, Pear & Simple expects to sell a lot of its Port Washington themed items, including coffee mugs, children’s T-shirts and magnets in the shape of the well-known Port Washington lighthouse.

“People are really excited about the Port Washington stuff and a lot of people come here specifically for that,” Suddendorf said.

Signs clearly displaying discounts on items were being put in the front window at Zing Safari.

Lois, an employee with Zing Safari, has worked at the downtown store for the past three years. She said she expects to see a variety of popular items sell this holiday season.

“We always do very well with all of our jewelry. Our evening bags, gloves, hats, because we have unusual gloves, unusual hats and we don’t have the same merchandise some of the big stores have. We have unusual things and people expect that,” she said.

People were out early, strolling from store to store.

For Melissa Winkworth, shopping at local stores on Black Friday is important.

“I worked in retails for 15 years and I know Black Friday from the other side, and when it comes to gift-giving, I think it’s more fun to go to smaller stores,” Winkworth said. “Anyone you shop for can go to Walmart or Target and get that gift, but all my family live out of state, so I just think it’s more fun to buy things they wouldn’t find, that I can send home.”

Winkworth had her eye on some stocking stuffer items and other gifts for her nephews, mother and mother-in-law.

“The big gift this year is going to be a popcorn maker, and I plan on getting that from . That’s for everybody because everybody loves popcorn,” Winkworth said.

The smell of popcorn, along with employee Pat Buechler, greets customers when they walk into Fireworks Popcorn. Open during its usual business hours, Buechler said the store will start extending hours once it gets closer to Christmas.

“We’ve got a ton of gift sets in the store and we’ve got them priced from as little at a $1.99 for a quick grab and go, those add-on gifts, up to $32.99 bowl and popcorn sets that are great gifts, so we have a variety of gifts available,” Buechler said.

While she expects to see some shoppers during Black Friday, Buechler is gearing up for Saturday, when a national effort called is in full swing

“Saturday has been a bigger day for us than today. People are at the big malls and taking advantage of all the highly advertised specials and the electronics and those kinds of things, but starting tomorrow we’ll have a good crowd. We’ll do really well for the holidays.”

A casual shopping experience is what Joyce Barott of Port Washington and her sister-in-law, Mary Schramel of Zimmerman, MN, had planned for Black Friday.

“We aren’t big box people. I love everything about local businesses. I like the small, I like the quaint, I like the unusual,” Barott said.

Zimmerman, who shopped in downtown Port Washington last holiday season, said she has been looking forward to seeing some of the new stores that have popped up since last year. She knows her business helps keep them going.

“You want to make sure these businesses stay open so you can enjoy shopping local like this," she said. "At home we try to do the same thing.”