Toys “R” Us Is Officially Back in Business

For people who grew up roaming endless rows of action figures and testing go-karts at Toys “R” Us, the news of its closing last year felt a little like the official end of childhood.

But we have good news for kids—and kids at heart—everywhere: Toys “R” Us is back in business. And it just opened its first new store at the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jersey. A similar store will open in Houston, Texas in early December.

According to NJ.com, Tru Kids Brands purchased the company’s liquidated assets at an auction last October, and they’ve teamed up with “experiential retailer” b8ta to create smaller, more creative brick-and-mortar stores. At about 6500 square feet, the Paramus store is much more streamlined than the former 40,000-square-foot warehouse-like models.

“Much smaller, but this store is packed with product, packed with amazing brands, packed with innovation, great technology,” Tru Kids Brands CEO Richard Barry said at the grand opening.

That innovation comes in the form of eye-catching toy displays, touch screens, a “Play-a-Round Theater” space for kids to entertain themselves while their parents shop, and even “Geoffrey’s Tree House,” a playhouse at the center of the store, complete with a winding staircase.

In addition to classics like LEGO, Nintendo, and Nerf, the store also features some newer brands, like Paw Patrol, that you won’t recognize from your original adventures as a Toys “R” Us kid.

The experiential establishments aren’t the only way Tru Kids is trying to revive the former toy store—they also recently relaunched the Toys “R” Us website, which now reroutes consumers to Target’s website, where they can complete their purchases.

Inspired to pull your old Hot Wheels and Furbies out of storage to relive their glory days? Not a bad idea, since some of them could be worth a fortune.