Toys “R” Us opening new store at New Jersey’s American Dream
The iconic Toys “R” Us is finally making a comeback — this time at American Dream with a two-story store complete with a slide and an ice cream parlor themed after the brand’s giraffe mascot Geoffrey.
By Chelsea Zukowski
The new flagship store is set to open this month at American Dream in New Jersey, and will be the only standalone Toys “R” Us in the United States. The store will be 20,000-square-feet and “reminiscent of the beloved toy store customers know and love,” according to a news release.
The store will include shoppers’ favorite toy brands, opportunities to meet Geoffrey the Giraffe, interactive play experiences and product demonstrations, a two-story slide, Geoffrey’s Café, an ice cream parlor and more. And being in the American Dream mall, which opened in 2020, puts its right next to Nickelodeon Universe theme park and DreamWorks Water Park.
“The Toys “R” Us brand is big and growing fast. Today we have over 900 stores and e-commerce sites operating across 25 countries outside the U.S.A., and now our U.S.A. expansion plans are in high gear, propelling us into the next chapter of growth for our global brand,” said Yehuda Shmidman, WHP Global and Toys “R” Us chairman and CEO.
The Toys “R” Us store is set to open in mid-December with extended hours for the 2021 holiday shopping season.
The toy store brand previously announced in August that it’s opening 400 “shop-in-shops” in Macy’s locations beginning next year. While the American Dream store will be the first standalone brick-and-mortar shop in the U.S. since the brand shuttered its last stores at the beginning of 2021, Toys “R” Us has continued to operate its website and about 900 overseas stores.
In 2018, Toys “R” Us made an emotional farewell after more than 70 years in business by shutting down and liquidating its more than 700 stores. Since then, the brand has been trying to make a comeback, seemingly returning in 2019 with a couple of new stores and pop-up shops.
But the COVID-19 pandemic dealt another blow to the brand, forcing it to close its last two remaining stores in early 2021.
With the hopeful success of the store at American Dream, Toys “R” Us may finally be back as an immersive destination toy shop.
