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Southern Arizona Expects Rush Of Mexican Shoppers On Black Friday

Bruce Bracker's store in downtown Nogales, called Bracker's, was founded in 1924.
(Photo by Jude Joffe-Block - KJZZ)
Bruce Bracker's store in downtown Nogales, called Bracker's, was founded in 1924.

All across the country, Black Friday means long lines starting early for the best deals.

But in border towns, those lines of shoppers start forming even earlier, on the Mexican side of the border.

"The lines at the border start super super early in the morning, like 3 or 4 in the morning, because they are all getting over here for the doorbuster deals at the big box stores," said Bruce Bracker, owner of a department store in downtown Nogales, Ariz.

"But not only here in Nogales. People are getting here early so they can drive up to Tucson," he said.

On Black Friday, Mexican shoppers typically make up a big part of the rush in Southern Arizona stores.

Bracker, who is also the chairman of the Greater Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority, said Black Friday isn’t nearly as busy a day for downtown shops as it is for the malls and big box stores.

But he said 80 percent of his customers year-round come in from Mexico.

"Well we’ve been saying it for a long time, but it is still amazing to find out that people don’t realize the huge impact Mexican nationals have in retail in the state of Arizona."

Bracker said that impact translates to tax revenue and jobs for Arizonans.

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Jude Joffe-Block was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2010 to 2017.