November 28, 2025 • 21 mins
Like so many Americans, we got the kids up before the sun was up and hit the road to our favorite outlet mall. After spending an hour on the road, it took almost as long to simply turn into the entrance of Woodbury Commons in Harriman, NY and that was just the beginning of our adventure. We’ll take you along our Black Friday experience and give you a little history lesson on the origins of this day after Thanksgiving tradition, and here’s a hint, it’s not what you’ve been told all of these years!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Folks, it is Friday, November twenty eighth, It is Black Friday.
And did you get out in this mess today? Did
you get out and get a good deal today? And
how did it go for you? Because for us it
was pretty dark and depressing. And with that, welcome to
this episode of Amy TJ.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Robes.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
We went out, we were in a good mood. We
were looking forward to this. Of course, in a word,
or maybe a couple words, how would you describe the atmosphere,
the mood of this official kickoff to the Christmas shopping season.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Intense chaos?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Okay, yeah, it was intense. Chaos is one thing. There
was an intensity to today that took me by surprise
and made me want to leave the place.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
We love Black Friday shopping, Yes, we love outlet malls. Yeah,
and we have combined the too. But today we took
on the juggernaut. We took on probably one of the biggest,
most well known outlet malls in the country and one
(01:15):
that we've gone to countless times over the years, even together,
but we've never gone to that particular outlet mall on
this particular day.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
So you're saying are bad, So you think you think
we made a bad call today.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, I think we took something we loved at a
time we loved doing it and put them together and
didn't recognize that it could be a potential disaster.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Okay, we're talking about different things. Okay, a couple of
different things. I can deal with some traffic, sitting waiting,
long lines, crowds. I felt a mood to today that
I found no joy in anybody so us for them
(02:01):
all overwhelmingly there was no joy. I didn't under I
was really perpleased. I mentioned it to you all the
entire time we were there. What is what is today's different?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
So we went to Woodbury Commons in harrim And, New York,
and it is.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's incredible.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yes, the stores they have, the quality of the products
they have, and the pricing they're giving it to us
for was all remarkable. You know where I found the joy, baby,
I know what you're saying. I'm listening in the folks
who were working. Really every cashier that we went up
to was actually really kind, really sweet. And I will
(02:41):
say we chose stores mainly that didn't have the roping
and like people weren't waiting forever to get into. We
chose places that weren't as like the high end have
to go into stores that had lines. So maybe the
people who were working at the stores we went into
were a little bit less irritated because they weren't as overwhelmed.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You found joy in the people that were working there
and those who were only maybe five people you came
in contact with the rest of the time.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
I do.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
For whatever reason, it wasn't just amount of crowds. I've
been around crowds, and I've been in basketball and games
and in arenas. There are crowds that people can still
be upbeat and you can feel a particular mood. The
mood amongst everybody was one not of joy, of giving,
of the season of fun. Even it was a mission
(03:39):
and intensity. You get out of my way, I will
run over you to get where I got to get.
There was a disregard for everything and everybody around that
shopper today in a way that I've found troubling. I've
been out. You know, I love going on Black Friday
and I love going on Christmas Eve. See the chaos
(04:01):
it felt like mean today?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (04:05):
So it's so funny you were use the word mission.
That is exactly what I was going to say. People
were on a mission. And some people might have been
on a mission to check off their Christmas list, okay,
but I think we saw a lot of this. People
were on a mission to buy up all the product,
almost as a as a business, to then go home
(04:28):
and resell it at a higher price. People brought suitcases,
like not just like a carry on luggage, but like
multiple suitcases that you would pack and check into your
airport because you were going on a month long vacation suitcase.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Okay, they had two of how many of that? Did
you see?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
You cut all these crowds and you have all these
people carrying massive suitcases, and they are buying with intensity
and just a veracity. They're not buying gifts for themselves.
They're not thinking about cousin, you know, Stella. No, they
were buying in volume for the biggest discounts.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
They were going.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Mostly to the higher end stores, and you know they're
going back home and putting this stuff up on eBay.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
That's the stuff that bothers me.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I offer being a businessman or woman and living in
this capitalistic consumerism fine and profiting off of it as
your side hustle, But you take away the purpose and
the fun of this holiday when you're sitting there elbowing
people so you can get your business march ready to go.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Okay, that didn't cross my mind in the midst of it.
Saw fine, but that didn't cross my mind. But if
that's what they're doing, that's what they're doing. They have
the right to do that. Everybody has the right to
do everything they were doing at that place today. The
thing is, it makes me not want to be there
during the holiday season. I know, it just didn't feel good.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
We love Woodberry Commons and we love Black Friday shopping,
so we go all the way up to do all that,
and then we came back to the city so much
it's rare that you would say that it was so
much calmer.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Oh, it was so much more pleasant.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
And you looked at me when we came back to
the city and we went to a mall nearby and
it was about I don't know, twenty percent of the
crowds that were at Woodbury Commons, and he looked at
me and he said, yeah, this is more my speed.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
It was when do.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
You ever go some When I was like, wow, I
cannot wait to get back to New York City, so
that was where people are friendly.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yes, actually that was the truth.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
So on the drive out, I was like, oh, it's
so nice to get out of the city. I was
looking at the mountains because I have to say, if
you've never been to Woodbury Commons, it's in It's in Harriman,
New York. It's near a gorgeous town called New Paul's,
New York. And the scenery, I mean, this is a
it's actually a really really beautifully architecturally well done outlet mall,
(06:55):
outdoor mall, and it set and nestled around these gorgeous
mountains to Shawn Mountains, which are the foothills of the Catskills.
It's just gorgeous, and so it's kind of it's just
a really pleasant thing to do. I've never been there
and felt more stressed being there getting back into the
city and feeling like my shoulders relaxed and I felt
(07:16):
like I could breathe again when I got back to
the city.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
But that actually is what happened.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
It was a relief.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
That's so funny.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
And we can tell me it's Brookville Place right the
place we go to. I think by now it's.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
The gorgeous mall.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
We talk about it enough.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
We live in this part of the city, so this
is right up the road from us. But it was
a different scene and it was a different tone. I
just didn't expect it today. But I don't know what
the rest of you all did today. But this is
how our day started. Now, we got the girls in
the house with us. The mall opens at six am.
(07:50):
It's about a one hour drive from us with light traffic.
So we tell them yesterday that we're going to leave
at seven am. Now, the reaction from a nineteen and.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
A twenty three year old wasn't great. They were like, what, what? Why?
Why do we have to leave at seven That's what
they asked.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Okay, so we we yes, fine, we're paying for this stuff.
You're gonna get your butts in the car at seven am,
and they did, yeah, yeah, there's no problems. So we
take off and as soon as we get in the car,
it showed it's going to be a one hour drive.
It didn't take too long before that changed to a
one hour and thirty minute drive, and then a one
hour and forty minute drive. But here's a thing. The
(08:36):
added time was only robes. What with like in the
two miles around the mall.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
We actually didn't get into the heavy traffic until point
eight miles from Woodbury Commons, so we actually sped no
traffic amazing all.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
The way through. If you guys are familiar.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Seventeen eighty seven, just sail it up to Woodbury Commons
and then when you we had to take an exit
early to try to avoid the off ramp which apparently
was way backed up, so we were going even in
the back way around to get to Woodbury Comments.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
And we get to zero.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Point eight miles from Woodbury Comments. I kept saying we
should walk, we should walk. It was crazy traffic with
massive highways coming in, so it wasn't possible to do so.
But yes, we spent what thirty minutes creeping point eight miles.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Looking at them all.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Essentially we could see it for thirty minutes and couldn't
get to it. So this is how it started. So
we get out and get going. Soon as we get there,
of course, somebody has to pee and somebody needs to
get something to eat.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, so typical.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
It doesn't matter what age the kids get, it's the
same scenario as if we were they were two years old,
when they were ten years old.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
It's always the twenty three year.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Old told me she was hungry at least four times, right.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
I was like, yeah, I heard you the first three
times you said that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
So we get here and we get going. Now, you
and I have done a lot of Outlin mall shopping.
Today is the first time I think we had an
extended period of splitting. Yes, we had to split because
you had girls and you know, I had girls shopping.
We didn't have all day to be there, so.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
No, we knew that the crowds were gonna get even worse.
So we were like, we have limited time, and You're like, babe,
I gotta go my way. You gotta go your way
because and that Actually I didn't like that very much.
I actually really enjoy shopping with you, and I was
sad to not be next to you.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Oh same, Oh.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yeah, you forgot to say that, But no, no problem,
I get it. I totally believe you.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
And also were bouncing around there today. And it's an
outland mall, so it's outdoor walking. It's freezing today.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Oh my god, so was it not?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
So the window I didn't even tell you fully, the
wind was up there. It was like twenty two. It
was and it felt twenty and it was twenty two.
I knew if I told you ahead of time, you
might cancel the trip.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I kept that to myself, Okay, So I there just
didn't find and it was worse once we bought a
couple of things.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
I was carrying bags. You just couldn't move for the
most part.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
But it was I had and you're right, I did
have positive interactions with several people at several stores. Been
out of republic. Love y'all, Reese, y'all the best, Justin
and Crewe in there, Camilla, y'all are fantastic, right they were.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
They were amazing and so kind.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Ye love them, appreciate all of them. But I did
all day find, like you said, a mission, Like there
was an intense mission that people were on. It wasn't
about I don't even know if it was saving money.
It felt like it was more like you said, about
making money, or it was it more.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
About what it was for me.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
It was just an intensity to the day. And I know,
I mean, we saw lines at some stores that didn't
make sense.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
At north Face Uggs, I mean, I know, yes, okay,
those are fun gifts, but it was the lines were
not anything that. I don't think a reasonable person would
be willing to wait in twenty two degree weather.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
And see here's for like an extended period of time.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
And see here's the other thing I thought about there,
what if we are? What does this tell us anything
about where we are that you have to do this
in order to save any dime you can to get
anything of quality. Perhaps because this is where we are,
the uncertainty that we always have, and right we just
went through a shut down. Is this now you have
(12:27):
to be willing to do these types of sacrifices to
save whatever buck you can. I don't know if that
was a reflection, but today wasn't about the joy of
the holiday season at.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
All, at least not until we got I felt the
joy moral. When we got back to the city we
saw an old friend.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
It actually was a lot.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
We were like, wait, maybe we should never have even
uh an old friend.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
We saw an old friend when.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
We got back to the city in Brookfield Place and
Jay Crew. See the thing is oh yes, sorry, sorry,
I tried to go to Jay Crew. It would very
commons And it's funny. We actually all found stuff. We
all had clothing that you were considering something. Ava had
several items. Annalyse finally said, I scored. I found this
thing with the line was so I was like, you
know what, let's see if it moves quickly, I'll give
(13:12):
it a beat. Anna and I went to go stand
in it. Five minutes later, we had not moved once.
We were coiled around the store, and I thought, you
know what sad to say, but we are.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
We can't, we can't wait in this line any longer.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
And we just had to put the stuff back and leave,
come all the way back to the city and find
that the J Crew here actually had the same sale.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yes, fifty percent off. Actually it was a great sale.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Lovely, lovely time in Ja Crew and we actually, yes,
we got to see an old friend.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
It all worked out. That was my That was the
standard in every store. I look at the line first,
at the register, and I say, is there anything in
this store that line?
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Yes? And usually no.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
And I know that in just one three hundred and
sixty degree turn. All right, folks, now Black Friday. We've
been calling it the Black Friday. It spawned Cyber Monday
and all kinds.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Of Giving Tuesday.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And isn't there a small business Saturday.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And yes, all this so you think you know what
black Friday is and where it came from, right when
businesses go into the black That ain't actually the story.
Stay here, we'll tell you the true origins of a
black Friday. All right, folks, we continue here on this
(14:34):
Black Friday, which was one of the most memorable we're
going to have, but one I would like to forget.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
You know what's funny I was reading today CNBC basically, well,
they wrote this story and they definitely were not where
we were at Wouldbury Commons because they said, well, black
Friday has long been defined by massive crowds, rock bottom prices,
rabid concerers, biting and scratching and clawing their way to
(15:03):
the best deals of the seasons. But they're saying this
now today foot traffic is flat, online shopping is up,
and consumers are weary. That is not what we saw
at Woodbury Comments today. We saw exactly what they said
black Friday used to be. We saw if that's the
olden days back man, everybody should just go straight to
(15:24):
Woodbury Commons because that description is exactly what we saw today.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
But they're suggesting that more so in a lot of
places that not as many people are going in Curs
Store anymore now.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
So we will say last year, we actually and this
is where we were kind of taken aback this year.
Last year we ended up renting a house out east
on Long Island because we didn't have a place where
everybody could gather, and so we knew that there was
It was the Tanger Outlets.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Somewhere I don't forgot somewhere.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
It was somewhere in West Hampton and somewhere in the
southern part of the Hampton's and we went last year
and there were crowds, but we were surprised at how
we were expecting a more robust turnout and it was tame.
So then we were just fooled into thinking we would
have the same experience going too and that was just
(16:16):
so foolish of us.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And you know what, lesson learned. I don't think we
will repeat ever what we did this year.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
We'll drive further to the Tanger Outlets to avoid what
we experienced.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
But yeah, that was like almost I actually had.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
The scene from Thanksgiving in my head because people were like,
we left at around eleven forty five am and things
were getting so bad. This is a large outdoor mall
with a large, wide pedet you could not get through
if you were holding backs without like getting hit.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
It was it. My daughters were both like, I'm having
social anxiety right now. I said, I actually am too.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
And let's the reserve space this. There are folks that
could be listening, say yeah, it's just y'all's first time
going on Black Friday. It's like this every single year.
Nothing has changed.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
We've been in other places, I just never and we love.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I've been going to Woodberry Commons for like twenty years,
but this was the wildest experience I've had.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
They might tell you it's like this every single year,
nothing new, So it was nothing new this year in
a different mood with Nope, this is just what happens
there every year. The thing black Friday, we I think
most people would tell that story right. The reason they
call it black Friday is it's the day that retailers
(17:40):
go into the black.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Ava asked me what Black Friday was, and I gave
her that exact definition because I thought I.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Was right, Well, you are.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Based on what retailers have been telling us for the
past fifty plus years. Wow, but that is not where
the story came from. I did not know this, of
course at all, but this goes back to the nineteen fifties.
It had nothing to do with shopping and getting into
the Red and Black anything else. Philadelphia are good friends
in Philadelphia. The annual Army Navy game that would take
(18:18):
place in Philly the day after on the weekend of Thanksgiving.
It would draw so many people into the city from
the suburbs, so they would come in to do their shopping,
they would come in to see the game. It created
a riotous atmosphere for police. They hated, hated having to
(18:41):
work the day after Thanksgiving. They started calling it their
black Friday.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Okay, I've never heard that story ever in my.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Mind, neither have I. So it wasn't just so. Yes,
it involved some shoplifting because people were taking advantage of
the people coming in to do the shopping, but so
much much of the I guess the riot this atmosphere
had to do with people just coming in to kick
it and have a good time at the game. But
police hated it. They kept being called black Friday, Black Friday,
Black Friday. So then retailers in the nineteen sixties and
(19:12):
the night Oh excuse me, nineteen eighties, they tried to
move forward and try to we got to take this
negative connotation off of it. So how can we do that?
They started pumping the story that you gave Ava that
this is when we're trying to get into the black.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Because we've been in the red up until now, we
haven't been able to be profitable. But now when people
start spending for the holidays, we finally get in the black.
So that day represents, yes, the day that retailers and
small business owners actually start turning a benefit and they're
in the black.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
There you go, Wow, who knew I more? You know? Right?
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And that is that's that actually blows my mind because
I think about for the last thirty years covering Black
Friday as a journalist, and I have sold that story
to every single community I've ever served, and I've told
them the Black Friday story that apparently was all b Yes.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Because obviously retailers make money at points other points of
the year, and traditionally, Chris no excuse me, the Saturday
before Christmas is often a bigger retail day than Black Friday.
And that makes sense the Saturday before Christmas day, yes.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Because we all procrastinates.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
So that's your last chance to get out. But yes,
that's often a bigger day makes sense there, It is.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
The more you know, the more you know.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
All well, I hope you all had a good one
wherever you might be, and please spread as much joy
and cheer and again, are bad if we just our
first experience with Woodberry Commons and we didn't know, maybe
it's like this.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I prefer Woodberry Commons on a Tuesday around ten am,
on a day not in the month of November or December.
So we'll see you soon Woodbury, but never again on
Black Friday. And with that everyone, thank you for joining us.
I made me robot alongside DJ Holmes. We'll talk to
you soon.
Folks, it is Friday, November twenty eighth, It is Black Friday.
And did you get out in this mess today? Did
you get out and get a good deal today? And
how did it go for you? Because for us it
was pretty dark and depressing. And with that, welcome to
this episode of Amy TJ.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Robes.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
We went out, we were in a good mood. We
were looking forward to this. Of course, in a word,
or maybe a couple words, how would you describe the atmosphere,
the mood of this official kickoff to the Christmas shopping season.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Intense chaos?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Okay, yeah, it was intense. Chaos is one thing. There
was an intensity to today that took me by surprise
and made me want to leave the place.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
We love Black Friday shopping, Yes, we love outlet malls. Yeah,
and we have combined the too. But today we took
on the juggernaut. We took on probably one of the biggest,
most well known outlet malls in the country and one
(01:15):
that we've gone to countless times over the years, even together,
but we've never gone to that particular outlet mall on
this particular day.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
So you're saying are bad, So you think you think
we made a bad call today.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, I think we took something we loved at a
time we loved doing it and put them together and
didn't recognize that it could be a potential disaster.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Okay, we're talking about different things. Okay, a couple of
different things. I can deal with some traffic, sitting waiting,
long lines, crowds. I felt a mood to today that
I found no joy in anybody so us for them
(02:01):
all overwhelmingly there was no joy. I didn't under I
was really perpleased. I mentioned it to you all the
entire time we were there. What is what is today's different?
Speaker 3 (02:14):
So we went to Woodbury Commons in harrim And, New York,
and it is.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's incredible.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yes, the stores they have, the quality of the products
they have, and the pricing they're giving it to us
for was all remarkable. You know where I found the joy, baby,
I know what you're saying. I'm listening in the folks
who were working. Really every cashier that we went up
to was actually really kind, really sweet. And I will
(02:41):
say we chose stores mainly that didn't have the roping
and like people weren't waiting forever to get into. We
chose places that weren't as like the high end have
to go into stores that had lines. So maybe the
people who were working at the stores we went into
were a little bit less irritated because they weren't as overwhelmed.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You found joy in the people that were working there
and those who were only maybe five people you came
in contact with the rest of the time.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
I do.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
For whatever reason, it wasn't just amount of crowds. I've
been around crowds, and I've been in basketball and games
and in arenas. There are crowds that people can still
be upbeat and you can feel a particular mood. The
mood amongst everybody was one not of joy, of giving,
of the season of fun. Even it was a mission
(03:39):
and intensity. You get out of my way, I will
run over you to get where I got to get.
There was a disregard for everything and everybody around that
shopper today in a way that I've found troubling. I've
been out. You know, I love going on Black Friday
and I love going on Christmas Eve. See the chaos
(04:01):
it felt like mean today?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (04:05):
So it's so funny you were use the word mission.
That is exactly what I was going to say. People
were on a mission. And some people might have been
on a mission to check off their Christmas list, okay,
but I think we saw a lot of this. People
were on a mission to buy up all the product,
almost as a as a business, to then go home
(04:28):
and resell it at a higher price. People brought suitcases,
like not just like a carry on luggage, but like
multiple suitcases that you would pack and check into your
airport because you were going on a month long vacation suitcase.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Okay, they had two of how many of that? Did
you see?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
You cut all these crowds and you have all these
people carrying massive suitcases, and they are buying with intensity
and just a veracity. They're not buying gifts for themselves.
They're not thinking about cousin, you know, Stella. No, they
were buying in volume for the biggest discounts.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
They were going.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Mostly to the higher end stores, and you know they're
going back home and putting this stuff up on eBay.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
That's the stuff that bothers me.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I offer being a businessman or woman and living in
this capitalistic consumerism fine and profiting off of it as
your side hustle, But you take away the purpose and
the fun of this holiday when you're sitting there elbowing
people so you can get your business march ready to go.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Okay, that didn't cross my mind in the midst of it.
Saw fine, but that didn't cross my mind. But if
that's what they're doing, that's what they're doing. They have
the right to do that. Everybody has the right to
do everything they were doing at that place today. The
thing is, it makes me not want to be there
during the holiday season. I know, it just didn't feel good.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
We love Woodberry Commons and we love Black Friday shopping,
so we go all the way up to do all that,
and then we came back to the city so much
it's rare that you would say that it was so
much calmer.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Oh, it was so much more pleasant.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
And you looked at me when we came back to
the city and we went to a mall nearby and
it was about I don't know, twenty percent of the
crowds that were at Woodbury Commons, and he looked at
me and he said, yeah, this is more my speed.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
It was when do.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
You ever go some When I was like, wow, I
cannot wait to get back to New York City, so
that was where people are friendly.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yes, actually that was the truth.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
So on the drive out, I was like, oh, it's
so nice to get out of the city. I was
looking at the mountains because I have to say, if
you've never been to Woodbury Commons, it's in It's in Harriman,
New York. It's near a gorgeous town called New Paul's,
New York. And the scenery, I mean, this is a
it's actually a really really beautifully architecturally well done outlet mall,
(06:55):
outdoor mall, and it set and nestled around these gorgeous
mountains to Shawn Mountains, which are the foothills of the Catskills.
It's just gorgeous, and so it's kind of it's just
a really pleasant thing to do. I've never been there
and felt more stressed being there getting back into the
city and feeling like my shoulders relaxed and I felt
(07:16):
like I could breathe again when I got back to
the city.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
But that actually is what happened.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
It was a relief.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
That's so funny.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
And we can tell me it's Brookville Place right the
place we go to. I think by now it's.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
The gorgeous mall.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
We talk about it enough.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
We live in this part of the city, so this
is right up the road from us. But it was
a different scene and it was a different tone. I
just didn't expect it today. But I don't know what
the rest of you all did today. But this is
how our day started. Now, we got the girls in
the house with us. The mall opens at six am.
(07:50):
It's about a one hour drive from us with light traffic.
So we tell them yesterday that we're going to leave
at seven am. Now, the reaction from a nineteen and.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
A twenty three year old wasn't great. They were like, what, what? Why?
Why do we have to leave at seven That's what
they asked.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Okay, so we we yes, fine, we're paying for this stuff.
You're gonna get your butts in the car at seven am,
and they did, yeah, yeah, there's no problems. So we
take off and as soon as we get in the car,
it showed it's going to be a one hour drive.
It didn't take too long before that changed to a
one hour and thirty minute drive, and then a one
hour and forty minute drive. But here's a thing. The
(08:36):
added time was only robes. What with like in the
two miles around the mall.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
We actually didn't get into the heavy traffic until point
eight miles from Woodbury Commons, so we actually sped no
traffic amazing all.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
The way through. If you guys are familiar.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Seventeen eighty seven, just sail it up to Woodbury Commons
and then when you we had to take an exit
early to try to avoid the off ramp which apparently
was way backed up, so we were going even in
the back way around to get to Woodbury Comments.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
And we get to zero.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Point eight miles from Woodbury Comments. I kept saying we
should walk, we should walk. It was crazy traffic with
massive highways coming in, so it wasn't possible to do so.
But yes, we spent what thirty minutes creeping point eight miles.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Looking at them all.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Essentially we could see it for thirty minutes and couldn't
get to it. So this is how it started. So
we get out and get going. Soon as we get there,
of course, somebody has to pee and somebody needs to
get something to eat.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, so typical.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
It doesn't matter what age the kids get, it's the
same scenario as if we were they were two years old,
when they were ten years old.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
It's always the twenty three year.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Old told me she was hungry at least four times, right.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
I was like, yeah, I heard you the first three
times you said that.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
So we get here and we get going. Now, you
and I have done a lot of Outlin mall shopping.
Today is the first time I think we had an
extended period of splitting. Yes, we had to split because
you had girls and you know, I had girls shopping.
We didn't have all day to be there, so.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
No, we knew that the crowds were gonna get even worse.
So we were like, we have limited time, and You're like, babe,
I gotta go my way. You gotta go your way
because and that Actually I didn't like that very much.
I actually really enjoy shopping with you, and I was
sad to not be next to you.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Oh same, Oh.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yeah, you forgot to say that, But no, no problem,
I get it. I totally believe you.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
And also were bouncing around there today. And it's an
outland mall, so it's outdoor walking. It's freezing today.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
Oh my god, so was it not?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
So the window I didn't even tell you fully, the
wind was up there. It was like twenty two. It
was and it felt twenty and it was twenty two.
I knew if I told you ahead of time, you
might cancel the trip.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I kept that to myself, Okay, So I there just
didn't find and it was worse once we bought a
couple of things.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
I was carrying bags. You just couldn't move for the
most part.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
But it was I had and you're right, I did
have positive interactions with several people at several stores. Been
out of republic. Love y'all, Reese, y'all the best, Justin
and Crewe in there, Camilla, y'all are fantastic, right they were.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
They were amazing and so kind.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Ye love them, appreciate all of them. But I did
all day find, like you said, a mission, Like there
was an intense mission that people were on. It wasn't
about I don't even know if it was saving money.
It felt like it was more like you said, about
making money, or it was it more.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
About what it was for me.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
It was just an intensity to the day. And I know,
I mean, we saw lines at some stores that didn't
make sense.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
At north Face Uggs, I mean, I know, yes, okay,
those are fun gifts, but it was the lines were
not anything that. I don't think a reasonable person would
be willing to wait in twenty two degree weather.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
And see here's for like an extended period of time.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
And see here's the other thing I thought about there,
what if we are? What does this tell us anything
about where we are that you have to do this
in order to save any dime you can to get
anything of quality. Perhaps because this is where we are,
the uncertainty that we always have, and right we just
went through a shut down. Is this now you have
(12:27):
to be willing to do these types of sacrifices to
save whatever buck you can. I don't know if that
was a reflection, but today wasn't about the joy of
the holiday season at.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
All, at least not until we got I felt the
joy moral. When we got back to the city we
saw an old friend.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
It actually was a lot.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
We were like, wait, maybe we should never have even
uh an old friend.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
We saw an old friend when.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
We got back to the city in Brookfield Place and
Jay Crew. See the thing is oh yes, sorry, sorry,
I tried to go to Jay Crew. It would very
commons And it's funny. We actually all found stuff. We
all had clothing that you were considering something. Ava had
several items. Annalyse finally said, I scored. I found this
thing with the line was so I was like, you
know what, let's see if it moves quickly, I'll give
(13:12):
it a beat. Anna and I went to go stand
in it. Five minutes later, we had not moved once.
We were coiled around the store, and I thought, you
know what sad to say, but we are.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
We can't, we can't wait in this line any longer.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
And we just had to put the stuff back and leave,
come all the way back to the city and find
that the J Crew here actually had the same sale.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yes, fifty percent off. Actually it was a great sale.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Lovely, lovely time in Ja Crew and we actually, yes,
we got to see an old friend.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
It all worked out. That was my That was the
standard in every store. I look at the line first,
at the register, and I say, is there anything in
this store that line?
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Yes? And usually no.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
And I know that in just one three hundred and
sixty degree turn. All right, folks, now Black Friday. We've
been calling it the Black Friday. It spawned Cyber Monday
and all kinds.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Of Giving Tuesday.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And isn't there a small business Saturday.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And yes, all this so you think you know what
black Friday is and where it came from, right when
businesses go into the black That ain't actually the story.
Stay here, we'll tell you the true origins of a
black Friday. All right, folks, we continue here on this
(14:34):
Black Friday, which was one of the most memorable we're
going to have, but one I would like to forget.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
You know what's funny I was reading today CNBC basically, well,
they wrote this story and they definitely were not where
we were at Wouldbury Commons because they said, well, black
Friday has long been defined by massive crowds, rock bottom prices,
rabid concerers, biting and scratching and clawing their way to
(15:03):
the best deals of the seasons. But they're saying this
now today foot traffic is flat, online shopping is up,
and consumers are weary. That is not what we saw
at Woodbury Comments today. We saw exactly what they said
black Friday used to be. We saw if that's the
olden days back man, everybody should just go straight to
(15:24):
Woodbury Commons because that description is exactly what we saw today.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
But they're suggesting that more so in a lot of
places that not as many people are going in Curs
Store anymore now.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
So we will say last year, we actually and this
is where we were kind of taken aback this year.
Last year we ended up renting a house out east
on Long Island because we didn't have a place where
everybody could gather, and so we knew that there was
It was the Tanger Outlets.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Somewhere I don't forgot somewhere.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
It was somewhere in West Hampton and somewhere in the
southern part of the Hampton's and we went last year
and there were crowds, but we were surprised at how
we were expecting a more robust turnout and it was tame.
So then we were just fooled into thinking we would
have the same experience going too and that was just
(16:16):
so foolish of us.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
And you know what, lesson learned. I don't think we
will repeat ever what we did this year.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
We'll drive further to the Tanger Outlets to avoid what
we experienced.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
But yeah, that was like almost I actually had.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
The scene from Thanksgiving in my head because people were like,
we left at around eleven forty five am and things
were getting so bad. This is a large outdoor mall
with a large, wide pedet you could not get through
if you were holding backs without like getting hit.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
It was it. My daughters were both like, I'm having
social anxiety right now. I said, I actually am too.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
And let's the reserve space this. There are folks that
could be listening, say yeah, it's just y'all's first time
going on Black Friday. It's like this every single year.
Nothing has changed.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
We've been in other places, I just never and we love.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I've been going to Woodberry Commons for like twenty years,
but this was the wildest experience I've had.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
They might tell you it's like this every single year,
nothing new, So it was nothing new this year in
a different mood with Nope, this is just what happens
there every year. The thing black Friday, we I think
most people would tell that story right. The reason they
call it black Friday is it's the day that retailers
(17:40):
go into the black.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Ava asked me what Black Friday was, and I gave
her that exact definition because I thought I.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Was right, Well, you are.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Based on what retailers have been telling us for the
past fifty plus years. Wow, but that is not where
the story came from. I did not know this, of
course at all, but this goes back to the nineteen fifties.
It had nothing to do with shopping and getting into
the Red and Black anything else. Philadelphia are good friends
in Philadelphia. The annual Army Navy game that would take
(18:18):
place in Philly the day after on the weekend of Thanksgiving.
It would draw so many people into the city from
the suburbs, so they would come in to do their shopping,
they would come in to see the game. It created
a riotous atmosphere for police. They hated, hated having to
(18:41):
work the day after Thanksgiving. They started calling it their
black Friday.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Okay, I've never heard that story ever in my.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Mind, neither have I. So it wasn't just so. Yes,
it involved some shoplifting because people were taking advantage of
the people coming in to do the shopping, but so
much much of the I guess the riot this atmosphere
had to do with people just coming in to kick
it and have a good time at the game. But
police hated it. They kept being called black Friday, Black Friday,
Black Friday. So then retailers in the nineteen sixties and
(19:12):
the night Oh excuse me, nineteen eighties, they tried to
move forward and try to we got to take this
negative connotation off of it. So how can we do that?
They started pumping the story that you gave Ava that
this is when we're trying to get into the black.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Because we've been in the red up until now, we
haven't been able to be profitable. But now when people
start spending for the holidays, we finally get in the black.
So that day represents, yes, the day that retailers and
small business owners actually start turning a benefit and they're
in the black.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
There you go, Wow, who knew I more? You know? Right?
Speaker 3 (19:50):
And that is that's that actually blows my mind because
I think about for the last thirty years covering Black
Friday as a journalist, and I have sold that story
to every single community I've ever served, and I've told
them the Black Friday story that apparently was all b Yes.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Because obviously retailers make money at points other points of
the year, and traditionally, Chris no excuse me, the Saturday
before Christmas is often a bigger retail day than Black Friday.
And that makes sense the Saturday before Christmas day, yes.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Because we all procrastinates.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
So that's your last chance to get out. But yes,
that's often a bigger day makes sense there, It is.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
The more you know, the more you know.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
All well, I hope you all had a good one
wherever you might be, and please spread as much joy
and cheer and again, are bad if we just our
first experience with Woodberry Commons and we didn't know, maybe
it's like this.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I prefer Woodberry Commons on a Tuesday around ten am,
on a day not in the month of November or December.
So we'll see you soon Woodbury, but never again on
Black Friday. And with that everyone, thank you for joining us.
I made me robot alongside DJ Holmes. We'll talk to
you soon.
Hosts And Creators
Amy Robach
T.J. Holmes
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