Iconic Toy Store Announces Surprise Return to Crossgates Mall!

Remember how cool it was to go to toy stores as a kid? It felt like the shelves went on forever with an endless array of everything you wanted in your room. Cool displays of the latest movie action figures, full wardrobes for dolls, hundreds of board games, and, at least in my case, drooling over the fully built LEGO sets - it felt like a dream.

Even if you didn't buy anything at all, it was still an experience - a full showroom built just for kids! But as buying shifted online, toy retailers felt the hurt worst than most and many shuttered forever.

So many iconic toy stores have come and gone, but maybe the most legendary of them all is making an unexpected return to the Capital Region.

In what might be the comeback story of the year, Toys 'R' Us is returning to Albany much sooner than you might think possible.

Welcome Back, Toys 'R' Us

Some magic left the world when Toys 'R' Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017. But since all the stores closed, Toys 'R' Us has been adapting and changing. As the last physical stores closed early last year, a company called WHP Global bought the brand rights to Toys 'R' Us.

Get our free mobile app

WHP Global then formed a partnership with department store mainstay Macy's, and sold toys on Macy's website under the Toys 'R' Us name. That partnership has been so successful that Toys 'R' Us announced they are opening up physical shops inside of every Macy's in the US.

That means Albany will have two locations: Crossgates Mall and Colonie Center are the two Macy's stores in the area.

The Return of Geoffrey Giraffe

In regular sized Macy's, like our two, the Toys 'R' Us section will be about 1,000 square feet. Macy's spokespeople say all the special retail sections will expand by up to 3,000 square feet during the holidays, and will "come to life in-store with playful colored fixtures as well as hands-on demonstration tables."

To celebrate the revival, both Capital Region Macy's will throw a nine-day party with in-store events for families with giveaways and showcases from toy favorites, like Barbie and LEGO. This will start on October 15.