Business & Tech

Black Friday Changes at Plaza to Ease Shopping Surge

The South Shore Plaza and Grossman Drive businesses will employ hundreds of hours of police details this holiday season.

The South Shore Plaza will open its doors before 12:30 a.m. on Black Friday this year, allowing shoppers hunting for deals to wait in a more orderly manner inside the mall.

The early morning hours after Thanksgiving draw thousands of people to Braintree's major retail outlets each year. Crowds typically start lining up the night before at Best Buy, Target, Macy's, Kmart and other retailers.

Recently, shoppers have also converged on the Plaza's main doors in anticipation of early openings by stores inside the mall, retailers that do not have their own entrances like those larger shops.

Last year, security personnel had a difficult time containing the surge that happened when the Plaza opened its doors at 12:30 a.m., Police Chief Russell Jenkins told the Town Council earlier this week.

To better manage the temporary rush, Plaza GM Rick Tonzi said the mall will open the doors sometime before 12:30 a.m. and allow shoppers to congregate within stanchioned-off areas in front of early-opening stores. Tonzi declined to provide a specific time or name the inside retailers.

Jenkins said the plan will allow his officers to monitor shoppers in front of those stores and then when they open to patrol throughout the South Shore Plaza property. 

"We won't have that big crowd rush," Jenkins said.

Last year, a night New England Patriots game contributed to the crowds, Jenkins said. Without that this Thanksgiving, the situation should be easier to handle.

The chief also said he is in communication with national stores in Braintree to make sure they know they cannot open prior to 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 29. State law does not allow retailers to open on Thanksgiving.

From Black Friday to New Year's Eve, the South Shore Plaza will utilize approximately 1,100 police detail hours, about equal to last year and an increase over years past when that number dipped into the 900s. 

The plan will include five to seven officers on traffic control, depending on the day and hour. They will be able to control the traffic lights around the Plaza, a key part of managing traffic flow, Jenkins said.

Tonzi said he will also increase Plaza's own security during the holiday season, but declined to give specific numbers on personnel deployment. 

At the Marketplace at Braintree, which includes stores such as Best Buy and Kmart, property management will employ 320 total police detail hours during the holiday season. Police there will control the light at Grossman Drive and Union Street.


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