BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Black Friday in Bowling Green was eerily quiet this year. 

The downtown square is usually filled with people and patrons ready to spend on the shopping holiday, but in efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, many decided to shop online. 

Back Down South is usually bustling with people, but this year they made accommodations to follow all CDC guidelines. Ensuring all customers social distance, wear mask, and use hand sanitizer, the boutique was also occupying limited capacity.

With safety precautions in place, Leyna Centers, said she is excited to get a jumpstart on the holiday season.

“I love Christmas, it's my favorite time of year so this just really makes it real. I wait for this all year round so at this time I’m like oh yeah it's Christmas,” Centers said. 

Pursuing her masters from Northern Kentucky University, WKU Alum Amanda Smith, decided to get out for the holidays. All her classes online and very little reason to leave the house, she says that she has been shopping at Back Down South for years and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grab the holiday savings.

“It feels good to be out shopping rather than at home so it makes it feel like the holidays,” Smith said. 

Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday season, but many families had to celebrate on a small scale. Jenny Jacobs, a mother of three, sought a sense of normalcy for her family and said it’s important to shop local.

“Kristin that owns the store, is a friend. We think a lot of her. She’s helped us a lot with different clothing needs that my oldest has had so we just wanted to come out and support her,” said Jacobs. 

Back Down South is located in the downtown square in Bowling Green, and offers online and over-the-phone orders.