Stores like Walmart, Belk and others always get large crowds for Black Friday, but many locally owned stores in Selma saw large crowds too.

Downtown shops like Queen City Market and Allez oup reported large crowds most of the day early Friday. Queen City Market manager Laura Beth Boyd said they did so well they beat last year’s  Black Friday sales and still had a few hours before closing.

Chet Chappelle, owner of Rountree Outdoors, said his store also drew a crowd for Black Friday. He said the majority of people he saw shopping there were locals, which he said the store appreciated.

We’re glad people decided to patronize locally owned stores for Black Friday instead of focusing on bigger stores and traveling out of town. Spending money here makes a big difference and benefits everyone. We hope shoppers continue to keep local stores in mind.