Giant Johnson County toy store closed last year. Now it’s back with party venue, shop

U.S. Toy Co. had to close its Overland Park store in mid-2022 to make way for redevelopment. It was the first time the company did not have a retail store in its nearly seven decade history.

The Grandview-based business concentrated on wholesale customers and e-commerce, while working on a new retail spot.

Now it is “celebrating 70 years of play” at a new retail store with a Pump It Up children’s party place franchise at 8510 W. 135th St., Overland Park.

But it has flipped the emphasis for the combo operation.

Pump It Up was only 8,900 square feet at 12070 Metcalf Ave. It now spans 13,000 square feet.

The old U.S. Toy store, along with a magic store, was 26,000 square feet and operated traditional retail hours. Now the toy store fills just a 1,800 square feet and operates only when Pump It Up is open, mostly on weekends.

“Running a store seven days a week with retail hours doesn’t work anymore,” said Seth Freiden, CEO of the family-owned business. “But we are seeing people coming out of the parties and buying novelty toys. We had spring break last week and did really well in the store — tons of people and tons of kids.”

On a recent rainy Saturday, children gathered in front to watch a short safety video for Pump It Up — listen to your parents and the staff, take off your shoes, but keep your socks on. Their parents signed a waiver.

In Arena A, Jack was celebrating his fourth birthday. The youngsters scaled a 20 foot inflatable climber, played in a bounce house with a basketball goal, made their way through an inflatable maze and then down a slide. At one point, the room darkened and black lights came on to “oohs and aahhs” from the children. A machine spewed out hundreds of large bubbles.

In Arena B, Max and his young group were celebrating his sixth birthday — climbing and jumping from giant inflatable balls in Cannonball Crossing, maneuvering an obstacle course, using soft building blocks and pool noodles in construction projects. Brightly colored balloons were netted above, waiting for the balloon drop.

Both rooms have sectioned off play areas for toddlers.

Evie celebrated her third birthday in the back party room with Pump It Up-supplied pizza and drinks. Customers can bring in their own cakes.

Pump It Up also has “open jumps” two or three times a week, $15 for two hours of play. It will have an open jump from noon to 4 p.m. Friday with a casting call to scout models for U.S. Toy catalogs and the website. It has 200 slots, and 115 children had already signed up by Wednesday afternoon.

When the children leave the arenas and party room, they pass by the U.S. Toy store — filled mostly with the company’s Kid Fun brand that they design, develop and manufacture in Asia, toys such as helicopters, putty, tie-dye kits, binoculars, garden tools, cash registers, dump trucks, and Dyson-style vacuum cleaners. It also has pinatas.

U.S. Toy sold more than $1 million worth of “Basket of Babies” in 2022 on Amazon alone. It is a set of six multicultural dolls in a soft fabric basket.

Earlier this year, it added a similar toy, “Basket of Dinos,” with three dinosaur eggs made from super-soft fabric that open to reveal baby dinosaurs.

It has several catalogs for ordering online. Its specialty catalog runs more than 200 pages and includes a variety of categories.

▪ Arts & Crafts: Colored pencils, pens and markers, coloring books and modeling clay.

▪ Outdoor and Active Play: Rakes and shovels, watering cans, “Paint a Birdhouse” kits, snowball makers, bazooka water soakers, spinning bubble wands and glitter punch balloons.

▪ Planes, Trains and Automobiles: USPS trucks, classic steam engines, space shuttles, turbojets, garbage trucks, Crown Vic police cars, emergency vehicles, fire engines, ice cream trucks, tractors, school buses and a 1962 VW bus.

▪ Impulse: Slime, kaleidoscopes, wands, wind-ups and stress balls.

▪ Retro and Classics: Dominoes, wooden towers, dart boards, card games, magnetic bingo and checkers, and harmonicas.

▪ Gift & Gadgets: Magnets, mineral science kits, galactic blaster guns and voice changers.

▪ Bath Toys: Mermaids, ducks and submarines.

▪ Pretend Play: Dinosaurs, frogs, turtles, snakes, baby dolls, firefighter helmets and spy glasses.

▪ Rubbabu: Rubber foam toys from triangles to the alphabet to bowling balls and pins.

▪ Fun ’n Yummy: Icee spray candy, Efrutti sour fruity fries and Pop Rocks.

Freiden is working on a gift registry app where children celebrating a birthday can come in and pick out the toys they want. Then attendees can buy them in advance and they will be gift wrapped and waiting for them the day of the party.

He also has tower displays of U.S. Toy products that are featured in specialty retailers, bookstore chains, hardware stores, museum gift stores and other outlets across the country.

U.S. Toy is a third-generation, family owned business that was founded by the late Frances Klein Gershon and Elvin Klein in their Kansas City living room in 1953. They opened their first storefront and warehouse around 1960. At one time they had seven stores around the country.

The Grandview headquarters is 550,000 square feet at 13201 Arrington Road and has 120 employees.

“Family businesses are a blessing and a curse. You don’t want to sit down and talk about the business at Friday night dinner,” Freiden said. “But it’s a family legacy that you are proud of and want to carry on. And our business here is lots of small families. I have people that met each other working at U.S. Toy, married and now have families.”