The old Taco Bell, left, and the new Taco Bell under construction next door, soon to be finished and ready for business.

Kudos to all those who stayed in Valdosta to do their shopping on Black Friday. The local stores needed the boost in the arm, as does our local economy, and the turnout was great. Thanks to the staggered hours that stores were open, there didn’t seem to be any huge traffic jams anywhere and the people in line, with a few exceptions, behaved themselves pretty well.

I ventured out for a short time, list in hand, found what I needed, and pretty much left. I’m not a big fan of crowds and there’s never been anything that I wanted that I’d be willing to fight or argue with somebody over, although I certainly saw that behavior several places. And my sympathies go to the workers in the Belk shoe department. If you were there, you know what I’m talking about, but if you weren’t, it was as big a mess as you can imagine and absolutely packed. I understand the workers had it back in tip top shape in no time though, but I don’t know how.

The stores in the mall, Kohls, Target, Toys r Us, and many others went out of their way to ensure that there were enough cashiers and store employees to help, and by and large the customers were pleasant, nice to each other and to workers, and it was a good day for those who went out.

Please remember though not to leave purses or packages in your cars. Just because the police and security are watching doesn’t mean that you should be careless.

One suggestion though as we head into these next few weekends — it was wonderful having a city policeman at the mall light to ensure traffic flowed around the mall better and it worked great, but can y’all put someone on the opposite side at the light? People coming from Target by Pier One should not be allowed to try and turn left and obstruct traffic to the point of causing gridlock. They should have to turn right only. Just a thought.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Parade in Hahira

On Saturday at 5 p.m., Santa Claus will visit Hahira in the town’s annual Christmas Parade. He will be at the Red Caboose following the parade for photos. All day long, Hahira shops will be open and there will be street vendors and live entertainment, too.

Business Roundup

It looks like Cheddars and Mongo the Mongolian Fire Pit will both open before Christmas, just not quite sure when yet, but have been told in the next two weeks. Cheddars is on Norman Drive by WalMart and Mongo is on North Ashley Street.

Sweet Pickles Grill in Hahira is getting closer to opening as well, hopefully late this week.

Just as new ones open, it looks like two others have closed, although I can’t find out if the closures are permanent or temporary. Pirates Bluff at Five Points and the 41 Feed Store in Adel are both closed right now. Let’s hope they both reopen soon.

There is a new store on St. Augustine Road in an 8,000-square-foot warehouse called Valdosta’s Antique and Merchandise Market will all kinds of items in the store.

A new motorsports store on North Ashley Street is opening where the former Snapper store was.

I still haven’t heard anything about the former location of Buck’s Pizza, just a lot of folks contacting me with rumors. If anybody knows for sure, please call me.

Dr. Antoinette Patterson has opened her office in the Camelot Crossing development off Highway 41 North.

Although construction is slowing down due to the Christmas holidays, several projects are purring along. The new Harveys in Hahira is steadily progressing. And coming soon, after the first of the year, construction will start on the McDonalds going in on North Valdosta Road in front of Foxborough. Also, the new Taco Bell on North Ashley Street is really moving fast and should be open right after Christmas.

That’s all I have for this week, but if there’s something I missed, please let me know!