ELY – The Legacy Toys store here reopened recently and a celebration was held last Saturday. Founded here in 2012, the company says it’s “devoted to helping kids and their families ignite their imagination through exploration and play.”
“Due to difficult circumstances beyond our control, our store here went through a change in hands and management last year,” Legacy Toys Chief Operating Officer Peter Cpin said. “However, earlier this year, the Legacy Toys company had the opportunity to bring the Ely location back into our family of toy stores.
He said the company offers a “unique experience” at each of its locations, with “one-of-a-kind displays and activities that are sure to entertain.”
After the first couple of years located just in Ely, Legacy Toys expanded to a Duluth location. About a year later, the Duluth location was expanded, then a location was added in Fargo, according to Cpin.
“Two years later, we branched into the Twin Cities, with the original plan of opening a location in the Mall of America,” he said.
At this time, another established toy store chain in the Twin Cities, Creative KidStuff, ceased operations.
“We were presented with opportunities we hadn’t really planned for, and we wanted to step in and fill the gap so we took on two additional locations, in Minnetonka and Edina, before we opened in the Mall of America. It turned into a whirlwind of openings down there.”
Meanwhile, the original Ely location closed temporarily.
“We got back in there this spring with the idea to revive it and bring it back to life,” Cpin said. “We have been hard at work fixing up the store and bringing it back to life with the original fun we started with. This includes a full remodel of the store with new fixtures, a new Legacy Littles section, more toys and we even brought back our huge fresh water aquarium.”
As with every other brick and mortar business, the COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on the educational toy business.
“All of our stores were closed down for a couple of months as mall and shopping areas shut down for public health safety,” he said. “We had just opened our Mall of America location and had literally just gotten our feet wet there.”
Legacy Toys focused on their online business.
“And that went crazy,” Cpin said. “We sold many puzzles and educational games and things to keep kids busy and learning while they were at home. It was enough to keep us afloat. As malls re-opened, our visitors returned, too.”
Legacy Toys still enjoys a brisk online business (www.legagcytoys.com). “We’re not a normal toy store. We want kids to come into our stores and touch and feel and explore and ignite their imagination,” Cpin said. “We offer a whole different experience that you just can’t get online.
Toy fans can visit Legacy Toys at any of their six locations, in Ely, Duluth, Fargo, Minnetonka, Bloomington and Edina. “We will soon have a seventh location, but we are not quite ready to announce our new location,” Cpin said. “I can say it will be north of the metro area.”