By Sara Beth Williams–
A long-cherished and popular national toy store will be holding its official grand opening later this month, with a week of celebration and giveaways inside Macy’s Women’s within the Sunrise Mall.
Toys R Us announced in 2021 that at least 400 locations across the United States planned to open inside Macy’s in a “store within a store” model throughout 2022. All in-store locations are expected to be open by Oct. 15, according to NPR news.
The Toys R Us official grand opening will begin Oct. 15, according to Macy’s Visual Captain Sydney Hammes, who is in charge of overseeing and setting up displays and signage across the local store. The nine-day-long grand opening celebration will include kids’ activities and giveaways, centering around Geoffrey the Giraffe’s birthday. Hammes said all the Toys R Us locations within all Macy’s locations will be holding similar activities between Oct. 15 and Oct 23.
The mall anchor retailer already has a well-stocked toy section with Toys R Us branding and fixtures visible in Macy’s Women’s at the Sunrise Mall.
“It’s a big Toys R Us event, we’re going to have music playing, we have Geoffrey on a bench here,” Hammes said. “I’m very happy Geoffrey is back.”
Giveaways will center around specific toy brands, with a different theme for each day. Specific themed days will include Barbie Day, Play Dough Day, Pokémon Day, LEGO Day, Geoffrey’s Birthday, and others. Themed displays and activities will be set up inside the Toys R Us section.
“I’m super excited about it. I was a Toys R Us kid back in the day,” Hammes said.
The national toy store brand filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and closed all of its locations, including the previous location at 7800 Greenback Ln. That building has since become a Hobby Lobby.
According to NPR news, the toy store’s merge with Macy’s is part of a partnership with WHP Global, which acquired the Toys R Us brand in March, 2021.
