SAN YSIDRO.- Tijuana shoppers have adopted the Black Friday shopping tradition in the United States, even crossing the border on Thursday night.
Last year, Tijuana residents waited up to four hours to cross the border on Thanksgiving night to be able to hit the stores before dawn.
Anticipating the holidays, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that they would extend the hours of operation of the Ready Lane at the Otay Mesa border crossing.
Starting Wednesday, the lane will be open from 4 a.m. to midnight from Monday to Friday, and from 8 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and Sunday.
This lane may only be used by drivers who have crossing documents enabled with radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, such as the U.S. passport card, a laser visa issued after 2008, Legal Permanent Resident card (known as the "green card"), and the SENTRI card.
Las Américas Premium Outlets, steps from the San Ysidro border crossing, has become a shopping mecca for Tijuana residents. Though a mall spokeswoman declined to estimate the proportion of shoppers who come from Baja California, some store managers estimated that more than half of the customers came from south of the border.
These shoppers will join San Diego County residents hunting for holiday bargains at the brand outlet mall, starting Thursday at 9 p.m., when more than half of the stores planned to open. These include Old Navy, Banana Republic, Puma, Aeropostale, American Eagle, Game Stop, Guess, Polo Ralph Lauren.
The stores will have special hours this weekend. On Friday, stores will be open to 10 p.m., Saturday hours will be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In the last few years, the term "Black Friday" has become widely known in Baja California as the day to get great bargains, even if it means waiting hours to cross the border.
Alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com
