Geoffrey the Giraffe and co. have made a comeback, opening its first standalone store in Madison since Toys R Us shuttered its stores in 2018.
At the time, Madison lost Toys R Us at 7309 West Towne Way and Babies R Us at 2161 Zeier Road.
Now, a new Toys R Us is located inside of West Towne Mall across from the Cheesecake Factory. It opened its doors on Friday.
The location is filled with Geoffrey, now slightly redesigned, and operated by Go! Retail Group, which also operates other stores like Calendars.com and Disney Store Limited Time.
Manager Laura Piantino said Go is opening smaller stores in malls across the country, with newly opened locations announced on social media.
Piantino said the company hasn’t advertised the store’s opening, but social media posts have already driven shoppers to the store, with a Tuesday afternoon filled with over a dozen people.
The store is permanent “as of now,” but also considered seasonal because Go signed a shorter lease term, though Piantino could not share how long that is.
The store is much smaller than what old fans grew up with, but it still focuses on toys and fun.
“It’s still family oriented, based around kids,” Piantino said. “Everything is almost the same. Geoffrey’s branded more character-like instead of realistic.”
For longtime shoppers like Mel Nortman, it is nice to see Toys R Us back, but she hopes it comes back with more nostalgia and what made it special.
“This is very different, but I know they’re just opening up again,” Nortman said. “But I think it’s exciting for people.”
Nortman’s son, 26, grew up with the store, and she remembers waiting in line at 1 a.m. on Black Friday to get tickets to purchase toys, and even Geoffrey celebrating his birthday with in-store events.
She’d like to see the big stores return with the video game section, numerous aisles and more.
But the news was enough to spark her curiosity and draw her back to the mall — Nortman hadn’t been there in 20 years. A friend told her about Toys R Us, and that was that.
“I had to Google it this morning because my friend sent me a picture and she’s like, ‘Oh, it’s right across (from) Cheesecake Factory.’ And I’m like, ‘No way.’”
Her family had just got done with an appointment and beelined it for the mall for food and nostalgia.
This actually isn’t the first Toys R Us to reopen in Madison.
Kind of.
In 2022, Macy’s stocked about 26 shelves in a Toys R Us section at its 702 N. Midvale Blvd. location at Hilldale Shopping Center.
The Macy’s rebirth and collaboration came from an expanded partnership between Macy’s and WHP Global, Toys R Us’ parent company.
Toys R Us’ business collapsed in 2018, with over 700 stores closing across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with about 30,000 losing jobs at the time.
While the return may not be one true to previous form, shoppers like Nortman can’t help but feel good about being greeted by Geoffrey again.
“I think it’ll grow,” Nortman said. “And I think kids’ll enjoy it. I’m used to seeing that blue shirt. We’ll be back again.”
