Toys R Us is bringing its iconic toy aisles back to another American shopping mall as the once-dominant retailer continues a brick-and-mortar comeback that has nostalgic fans buzzing.
A new location is coming to Northridge Fashion Center in California’s San Fernando Valley, joining a growing roster of Toys R Us stores opening across the country, years after the chain shuttered its U.S. locations.
The mall’s website lists Toys R Us as “Coming Soon,” while the retailer’s website now shows more than 30 standalone and flagship locations nationwide.
An opening date for the Northridge store has not yet been announced.
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News of the latest location quickly caught the attention of longtime Toys R Us fans, with some calling for the retailer to lean into its nostalgic appeal and bring back toys from decades past.
“They should do retro toy section for us grown ups who were a kid so we can relive our childhood memories back in the day,” one person commented on a post from What’s New SFV, a local social media page dedicated to happenings around the San Fernando Valley.
Another commenter appeared ready for even more familiar retailers to make a comeback, writing, “Now bring back JoAnn’s and Payless.”
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The Northridge opening marks the latest chapter in a yearslong effort to rebuild a brand that was once a fixture of American childhood.
Toys R Us, which once dominated toy sales in the U.S., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2017 after years of declining sales and under the weight of $5 billion in debt.
The retailer shuttered its U.S. stores in 2018 before the brand reemerged under new parent company Tru Kids Brands the following year.
In November 2019, Toys R Us opened a nearly 6,000-square-foot, smaller-format store at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, marking its return to brick-and-mortar retail in the U.S. A second location followed at The Galleria in Houston, Texas.
Both stores later closed in January 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Brand management firm WHP Global acquired a controlling stake in Toys R Us in March 2021 and has since worked to rebuild the retailer’s physical footprint.
Later that year, Toys R Us opened a 20,000-square-foot flagship at American Dream in New Jersey.
The comeback expanded further in 2022 with the launch of hundreds of Toys R Us shops inside Macy’s stores nationwide.
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“Macy’s cannot wait to bring the Toys R Us experience to life in our stores,” Macy’s Chief Merchandising Officer Nata Dvir said at the time. “We hope Toys R Us kids of all ages discover the joy of exploration and play within our shops and families create special memories together.”
The partnership also delivered a significant boost to Macy’s toy business. The retailer said its toy sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2022 were 15 times higher than during the comparable period before the Toys R Us partnership.
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Toys R Us then set its sights on an even broader return.
WHP Global announced in 2023 that it was partnering with Go! Retail Group to roll out additional Toys R Us flagship stores across the U.S. beginning in 2024, part of an expansion strategy the company dubbed “air, land and sea.”
“The Toys R Us brand is growing fast and our expansion into air, land and sea is a testament to the brand’s strength,” WHP Global Chairman and CEO Yehuda Shmidman said when the plans were announced.
Shmidman said the company had increased the brand’s global retail footprint by more than 50% since acquiring Toys R Us, with more than 1,400 stores and e-commerce sites across 31 countries at the time.
The company also expanded beyond traditional shopping centers, opening its first airport store at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and announcing plans to bring the brand aboard cruise ships.
The U.S. expansion has continued.
The Toys R Us website now lists more than 30 standalone and flagship locations nationwide, in addition to the brand’s presence inside Macy’s stores.
The planned Northridge location is the latest sign that the retailer synonymous with generations of childhood wish lists is continuing to rebuild its brick-and-mortar presence across the country.
Fox News Digital reached out to Toys R Us and Northridge Fashion Center for comment.
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