FRANKLIN
By mid-morning Friday, downtown Franklin’s retail stores were nearly deserted, with barely a single holiday shopper in sight. An employee at Gray Fox Electronics on Second Avenue said he had seen two or three shoppers earlier that morning, but beyond that, business had been slow all day, despite it being Black Friday.

It was another story, however, with Franklin’s larger retail chains on Armory Drive. Walmart received a steady stream of customers throughout the day, and Belk was very crowded early Friday morning, according to a store manager.

It remains to be seen what, if any, resurgence Franklin’s downtown area will see on Saturday as a result of Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc.’s Small Business Saturday promotions. A total of 26 local businesses throughout Franklin and Southampton County had signed up with FSEDI to offer extended business hours and other offers on Saturday