Editor’s Note: the onslaught of Black Friday looms as we approach the end of the Thanksgiving week, a test of your hunting instincts and survival skills during the most perilous shopping day of the year. If you are not interested in being stampeded by an angry crowd thirsting for plasma TVs at 5 a.m., then the Daily Lobo has compiled a list just for you of local small businesses offering their own Black Friday sales. It could help you dodge the crowd and support the local economy. How’s that for some holiday cheer?
Astro-Zombies Comics
3100 Central Ave. S.E.
Black Friday Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Discounts: sign up for newsletter at astrozombies.com
Who needs Santa when you can believe in athletic superheroes dressed in spandex instead? I know I would rather see men in tights duke it out than get a pinch on the cheek from an old fart. Astro-Zombies offers a myriad of comics, vintage and modern, that will make your Christmas action-packed and wow the recipients. Plus, the store is offering discounts for Black Friday for those of us without supernatural spending capacities. It is releasing the exact discounts in its online newsletter, so sign up at astrozombies.com if you want to see what you’re getting yourself into ahead of time.
Masks Y Mas
3106 Central Ave. S.E.
Black Friday Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Discounts: 25 percent off select items.
If you’re going to support another country through your holiday purchases, why not support our neighbors to the south, Mexico? This eclectic shop sells everything from tribal masks to hand-crafted rustic furniture, and employee Kenny Chavez said it is the perfect stop for family members visiting Albuquerque this thanksgiving.
“We’re the closest to Mexico that a lot of people will get who are flying into town this weekend,” he said. “We’re a cultural institution to Nob Hill, we’re one of the few Latino owned operations going on in this area.” Chavez was already decorating the ceiling with sparkly stars on Tuesday, so what kind of fiesta the store turns into by Friday is for you to find out.
Stilo Lifestyle Accessories
3339 Central Ave. S.E. Suite D
Black Friday Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Discounts: Caustic Threads shirts two for $25, Eddy Downing jewelry 10 percent off, dresses 20 percent off.
This groovy boutique doubles as a clothing store and an art gallery, featuring primarily local handiwork. All sales have not yet been finalized, but employee Jessie Smith said almost all retail items will be on sale, maybe even some artwork as well.
Boldly patterned sweatshirts by Caustic Threads are the perfect gift for a fashion defunct friend, as well as the jewelry made by Eddy Downing. Both artists are local, and Smith said buying local is much more beneficial than buying from chain stores. “Shop local,” she said, “It’s really opened my eyes how much buying just one thing supports local artists, the local economy.”
Birdland
3213 Central Ave. N.E.
Black Friday Hours: Birdland owner Jay Steinberg said the Birdland has no official store hours.
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Discounts: Running discounts until December, nothing specific
If you’ve been looking for a 4-foot silky white beard/wig apparatus, Birdland is the place for you. The “hippie store” doesn’t just carry random hair pieces, it has a large selection of glass pipes and body jewelry, as well as many other knick-knacks. Steinberg said he detests the notion of Black Friday because he thinks small businesses aren’t supposed to compete, they’re supposed to create community. “It isn’t that we’re doing deals to compete with these big motherf*****s out there,” he said. “This new game of saying ‘we’re running a sale, these are $100, but they’re 99 percent off,’ that’s a game that big retailers play.”
He said he specifically focuses his shop on items corporations don’t typically carry. “The day that Walmart starts selling bongs, I’m in trouble,” he said. “Where does our support lie — is it with our neighbors, or four billionaires who live in Arkansas?”
