Toys "R" Us...Let's Talk About It

Recently, I was checking my emails, and I ran into some amazing news. Everyone's favorite toy store, Toys "R" Us, is opening around 120 locations across the United States in time for the holiday season. They're going to be standalone stores. Around my area, a Toys "R" Us store is planned to be open soon. As of this writing, no date has been announced. Also, it's unclear whether it'll be a seasonal location or will open after the holidays are over. The original location on North College Avenue, across from the Northwest Arkansas Mall, first opened sometime in 1990 and sadly shut its doors on June 29, 2018. It had been opened for nearly 30 years. For context, I moved to Arkansas from my home state of Texas in 2010. I moved to the Northwest Arkansas area in late 2012. I now live in a town that I've been residing in since 2020. This is welcome news to me, because I first went to the Toys "R" Us location near me back in 2013. At the time, I had no idea that they had a store. This was the first time in over 20 years that I had a toy, but I visited this store for the first time as an adult. The first thing I bought was a Red Ranger action figure. A picture of me with it will be found at the end of this story. Over the next five years, I would purchase other Power Rangers action figures and other toys, which you can also view at the end of this story. Soon after the original location closed, I filmed a quick video of me waving goodbye to the store that defined my childhood. Let's learn more about Toys "R" Us.

The History of Toys "R" Us

Toys "R" Us was founded by Charles Lazarus in 1948. It originally began as a children's furniture store until the focus shifted on selling toys in June 1957. Thus, Toys "R" Us was born. Lazarus was born in Washington, D.C. in 1923 to a Jewish family. Sadly, he passed away from respiratory failure on March 22, 2018, at the age of 94. His passing took place a day before the company began liquidating stores. Since its relaunch in 2019 as well as their website, Toys "R" Us has been operating a mix of standalone flagship stores, seasonal pop-ups, Macy’s shop-in-shops, and international licensed locations.

The one thing I do worry about is that when the Toys "R" Us store does open; will the feeling of nostalgia still feel the same as it did several years ago? Nostalgia will only get us so far, but I still do plan on checking it out and maybe do a review on it here. So, be sure to keep an eye out on that story. In the meantime, I'll still view the catalogs, commercials on YouTube, and see other people discussing their own memories at Toys "R" Us. I'm glad that I grew up in the right decade, which was the 90s, and newer generations will have a better idea of the reasons why we loved this store so much. Being an older millennial, Toys "R" Us will always hold a special place in my heart. No matter my age or what the current year it is, I'll always be a Toys "R" Us Kid.

Is a Toys "R" Us opening soon in your area or has it already opened? If so, what were your first impressions of it? Also, feel free to share your fondest memories of this store in the comments below. I know that they're going to be some very interesting ones.