Star Wars, Kiss, Lenny Bruce: New vintage toy store in Chatham is a pop culture paradise

CHATHAM — Randy Falk jokingly refers to his new vintage toy shop as the byproduct of a "midlife crisis." But to tell the truth, toys have always been a part of his DNA.

"I've been a vintage toy buyer and seller since 1989, when I was 16," said Falk, who opened his first retail store, YesterToys, on Main Street earlier this month. Shoppers can find a trove of nostalgic action figures, masks, playsets and other relics of popular culture.

"Black Friday was great," said Falk, who operates the shop with his wife, Nicole, and his two daughters who serve as "assistant" toymasters: 10-year-old Penelope and 9-year-old Ripley (who's named after Sigourney Weaver's character from the "Alien" movies).

"This is something we wanted to do together as a family," said Falk, 50, who lives in New Providence. "Some people buy a sports car for their mid-life crisis. I said, 'Why don't we open a toy store?'"

Nicole Falk said it was inevitable that her husband would open a toy store someday.

"If this is the mid-life crisis, great, I'll take it," she said. "He has been a toy collector all his life. He is really in his element here. When I see him talking to customers and all these wonderful things, and the memories, it's exciting to watch."

Toymakers to toy-sellers

The Falks do more than buy and sell action figures. They also design and manufacture them, working for the Hillside-based National Entertainment Collectibles Association, known in the industry as NECA.

Randy still works full-time for the association in design and development. Nicole, a graphic artist and photographer, left full-time work to raise her daughters but still takes on freelance assignments for the company.

Given their busy schedules, hours at YesterToys are still limited to 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and noon to 7 p.m. on weekends. They will expand and adjust hours as the business grows. Customers can check for updates on the store's social media accounts.

Randy Falk said the family chose Chatham for the store because the borough is a family-oriented town with a downtown district that attracts a lot of foot traffic. The location on the corner of a busy intersection, with display windows in two directions, "was just too good to be true."

"Our focus is primarily nostalgia, and it's awesome seeing families come in because you see them go off to their own sections," Randy said.

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"The father might gravitate towards our Star Wars or GI Joe case. The son might go to Pokemon or Ghostbusters, which is hot after the recent movie reboot. The mom could be Strawberry Shortcake or Barbie. The daughter could be Wednesday [from "The Addams Family,"] because Wednesday is very hot from the Netflix show."

Pop culture for sale

The 700-square-foot shop is packed with products inspired by comic-book, cartoon, TV and movie heroes of the past 50 years, as well as selected seasonal items like the "leg lamp" from the movie "A Christmas Story."

Much of the inventory is familiar. There are separate glass cases for Marvel and DC Comics superheroes. But other inventory deviates from the typical toy world. Musical action figures representing Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Angus Young and rapper Notorious B.I.G. share a case with a Kiss "Love Gun" album playset, with dolls featuring the costumed band members playing for scantily clad female fans.

Another case holds a rare Joan Rivers action figure rubbing shoulders with Richard Simmons and Lenny Bruce. Horror movie characters also have the run of the place, from Freddy Krueger and Jason to "Scream" villain Ghostface.

Collectible vintage playsets and figures can run as high as $500, "but we have a wide assortment of merchandise and price points that start at $5," Randy Falk said.

"It's fun to bring some joy and happiness into the community," he said. "There's not a lot of toy stores around anymore. And it's not the same buying on the internet. You can touch and feel things here. Seeing a woman smell a Strawberry Shortcake doll for the first time in 40 years, that's the kind of magic you can't recreate online."

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Star Wars, Kiss, Lenny Bruce: vintage toy store in NJ full of memories