"I didn't think it would be quite as crowded here as the one in Kennesaw," she said, bundled up in a blanket at approximately 3 a.m. "I was wrong."
The line she was standing in at Best Buy in the Canton Marketplace shopping center on Highway 20/Cumming Highway near Interstate 575 exit 19 wrapped around the building.
In line behind her was Christian Kennedy of Canton, who was experiencing his first Black Friday shopping experience. Both were looking for deals on laptop computers.
"I don't think I will be getting my first choice," he said as he waited outside in the cold morning air. "Next time I do this, I will go much earlier and be more prepared."
It was the first Black Friday for the new center that opened earlier this year, and retailers said the day lived up to expectations as one of the biggest shopping days of the year.
Andy Summers, general manager of Best Buy, estimated 300 people were waiting in line when the doors opened Friday morning.
"We were pleasantly surprised," he said about the turnout, adding the store remained busy all morning as people trying to avoid the big crowds strolled in later.
Randy Dodsen, store manager of the SuperTarget on Highway 92 in Woodstock, said the morning crowds were "right on track" with what the store was anticipating.
"We are right where we thought we would be," he said Friday morning. He said there were between 300 and 350 people waiting outside for the doors to open.
Gabrielle Jones of Acworth was in line at about 4 a.m. at the Woodstock SuperTarget, already her third stop of Black Friday. She had started at midnight at Toys R Us in Cobb County, but got discouraged by the crowd that had already gathered.
"I saw the line and said, 'Forget it,'" she said.
Shannon Dilda of Canton said she expected big crowds "now more than ever" because of the economy, as she took her spot in the Woodstock SuperTarget line.
"You can't beat the savings," she said.
David Blinkhorn, an executive team leader for the new SuperTarget at Canton Marketplace, said the store was excited for the turnout it had early Friday morning. He estimated 500 people were outside the doors of the store, and about 2,000 people were waiting outside other stores in the shopping center.
"It has gone beyond just the sales. It is a tradition," he said, calling Black Friday a "social event."
He said televisions and appliances were the most popular items that morning.
"Those blew out of here real quick," he said.
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