`IT WAS A MADHOUSE' HOLIDAY SHOPPING KICKS OFF.Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer PALMDALE - Eleanor and Tony Rodriguez Antonio-Anthony Rodriguez a.k.a. "Tony" is a Lucchese crime family mob associate born of Puerto Rican-Spanish descent from Mattituck, New York and the ex-brother-in-law of Angelo Sepe, who also was a suspect in the 1978 Lufthansa heist. of Palmdale started their holiday shopping excursion Friday with a visit to Wal-Mart at 5 a.m. ``It was a madhouse. Fighting and yelling just for a TV and a scooter scooter: see motorcycle. ,'' Eleanor said. The Rodriguezes - who have four children, 12 brothers and sisters, and 48 nieces and nephews between them - followed up Wal-Mart with the Antelope Valley Mall The Antelope Valley Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Palmdale, California. Opened in September, 1990, its buildings take up around 1 million square feet (90,000 m²). Its physical main building, parking lots, and ring road businesses encompass an area a bit less than 0. , where the trip through Kay Bee Toy Store A toy store, or toy shop, is a retail business specializing in the services of selling toys. No longer held to the limitations of the brick and mortar outlet, the toy store has successfully created a presence within the e-commerce industry. took an hour. Kay Bee's solution to the onslaught of customers was to form a single line, starting at the door, snaking through the aisles and ending at the cash register. Shoppers picked out toys as the line inched past the shelves. ``We're just getting ready to go home now,'' Eleanor said as the couple emerged from the toy store clutching bags of presents. ``My feet hurt.'' Shoppers lined up in front of some Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley stores hours ahead of time, aiming to be first in the doors for sales on the busiest shopping day of the year, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. At the Best Buy electronics store in Palmdale, where customers lined up Thursday night, by 8 a.m. the lines for cashiers stretched all the way through the store to the back wall. At the mall, the doors were opened two hours early Friday to accommodate Kay Bee's sale, which started at 5 a.m. ``I heard there was someone in line at 3 a.m. this morning. I'd like to meet that person,'' said mall General Manager Brian Gardner Brian Gardner is an American record producer and sound engineer. He has worked on over 750 recordings since the mid-1970s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk, and dance pop. . The mall's department stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. this year broke with recent tradition to offer sales on the day after Thanksgiving, Gardner said. Normally, they wait until nine to seven days before Christmas, he said. ``The department stores have realized they need to come out with sales early,'' Gardner said. Gardner noted that this day after Thanksgiving was the mall's first normal one in three years. Dillard's department store opened last year and the year before that the north parking lot was closed for Dillard's construction. ``This season will probably be flat to up to 1 or 2 percent (increase in sales). That's falling in with the national averages,'' Gardner said. Shoppers like Glen and Lisa Moulton were helping with the mall's average. The Moultons started shopping around 9 a.m. at Dillard's, then proceeded to Old Navy, Sears and Mervyn's. They bought a scooter for a daughter, sweatshirts for daughters and nieces, and a George Foreman grill The George Foreman Grill, also known as the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine is a popular indoor grill promoted by well-known boxer, George Foreman. for Lisa's parents. ``We'll shop all day and go down below, maybe take in a movie,'' Glen Moulton said. Sitting on a mall bench at midmorning mid·morn·ing n. The middle of the morning. Friday with his 9-year-old son Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. and 2-year-old daughter Heidi, Oswaldo Valdez was waiting for his wife and older daughter to rejoin re·join 1 v. re·joined, re·join·ing, re·joins v.tr. To say in reply, especially in sharp response to a reply. v.intr. To reply. them. ``Probably, we're going to be here all day,'' Oswaldo said. ``We save money all year long for this day.'' The Valdez family arrived at 6 a.m., and by 10 a.m. they had already visited J.C. Penney's and Dillard's. Setting an example for mall employees, Gardner parked in the parking space farthest from the mall so customers would be able to park as close to the mall entrances as possible. ``My goal this year is to make sure the customers have a good time in the mall,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Eleanor and Tony Rodriguez, above, started their holiday shopping at 5 a.m., to get a head start on crowds in the Antelope Valley Mall. Glen Moulton, below, and his wife, Lisa, started at 9 a.m., planning to spend the day shopping before taking in a movie. (4) Oswaldo Valdez, with son Leo, 9, and daughter Heidi, 2, says he and his family save money all year for day-after-Thanksgiving shopping. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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