Crowds returned to metro Denver shopping centers Friday, whether to get a bargain with Black Friday deals, shop for themselves, start holiday shopping or simply just to get out of the house.

That’s according to shoppers, retailers and officials from Park Meadows Shopping Center, Cherry Creek Shopping Center and Town Center at Aurora.

Denver shopping centers expect strong Black Friday

“It’s a lot better than we expected,” said Sylas Shalash, co-owner of Toy Alley at Town Center.

The new retailer just opened earlier this month and wasn’t sure what to expect from November traffic or sales.

“When ToysRUs closed, we looked around and wondered who would fill that spot,” Shalash said. “No one did, so we decided to. We’re the new ToysRUs.”

Though the store had no troubles staffing up for the holiday season, there have been supply chain issues.

“It’s crippling us on getting some of our toys, especially the battery-operated ones. They’re here, but sitting at some port and there’s no ETA,” he said.

Sara Little, 35, of Aurora escorted her boys Jayce, 7, and Braydon, 11, through the store as their heads looked to be on a swivel and they excitedly tried to find one toy they liked. ‘

“This feels like pretty normal traffic for Black Friday, similar to 2019,” Little said. “The boys said they wanted to go for an adventure. I told them ‘You want an adventure? Let’s go to a mall on Black Friday.”

While there were no “masks required” signs on the mall entrances, most stores had signs reminding shoppers to mask up. About 60% complied.

Cherry Creek West envisioned as 13-acre, mixed-use development

At Cherry Creek, by 1 p.m. the first four levels of the parking garage were full, and the fifth level was filling quickly. The children’s play area was packed, and there were lines for the Hagen Daaz and Louis Vitton.

Lance Trudo of Denver, and his daughter Brynn, were in that Louis Vitton line.

“I usually shop closer to Christmas, but wanted to shop earlier this year,” Trudo said.

The Golden Goose, which opened at Cherry Creek about four months ago, saw steady traffic of shoppers perusing its Italian luxury brand shoes and apparel.

“We’ve done really well in that time, so has the mall it seems,” said Cassidy Smith, store manager. “People are wanting to get out of the house. And for shoes especially, it’s better to do that in person to try them on and such. Our European sizes can be tricky.”

“I actually thought it would be busier,” said Kelly Atteridg, who was shopping with her son Jack. “There were a couple of stores we bought things and there were no lines. We actually drove down here from Boulder because there’s a better selection of stores” at Cherry Creek.

“Masks Required” signs were at every entrance, and many stores had people out front keeping customer counts to prevent overcrowding. It appeared well more than 80% of customers were masked.

Nearing 3 p.m. at Park Meadows, the parking lots were completely full as lines of cars circled looking for spots. Both turn lanes to enter the mall on County Line Road were completely filled and backed up almost to I-25.

Inside, the center was packed. Lines formed outside of numerous stores. It’s safe to say its not been that busy in almost two years.

General Manager Pamela Schenck Kelly walked the floors, picking up small pieces of trash and an errant mask along the way.

“We do traffic counts and look at every hour,” she said. “Today we’re doing better than 2019. … We’re feeling tremendous energy today.”

It’s important to keep in mind Park Meadows remained open for Thanksgiving in 2019, so those Black Friday crowds may have been a bit thinner.

While Douglas County has no masking order in place – like Denver and the Tri-County Health Department covering Town Center – some stores like Nordstroms posted signs requiring masks of all shoppers, even the vaccinated ones.

“We’re fully prepared to have customer inquiries from those concerned we’re not requiring masks,” Kelly said. “I’ve heard from people today saying they came here specifically because there’s no mask mandate.”

Barely 20% of the shoppers were using masks, and one shopper was overheard saying “I should wear a T-shirt saying ‘Masks Don’t Work’.”

“We’ve got a lot of new stores this season, and six under construction. We must always keep evolving,” Kelly said.

“This is better than 2019, way better,” said Juan Garcia, store manager for Pro Image Sports at Town Center. “People are anxious to get out and they’re anxious to spend money. … I think those COVID checks helped a lot.”