I would think so too, for the simple reason that kids love toy stores, and they are a great tool for getting the kid to go shopping with you when you need to (can’t get a sitter or whatever). Toy stores are fun to browse in and there is surely a viable business in that somewhere. Toys’R’Us seems to be mostly a victim of vulture capitalism rather than there being anything fundamentally wrong about brick and mortar retail toys.
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They seem to be struggling along, but probably not for long. I was in one just before the pandemic started, and it was dirty, half empty, and really depressing. Even my nephew didn’t like it very much and we used to have drag him kicking and screaming (sometimes literally) out of that place.
Unlike, say, Radio Shack (now The Source), Dairy Queen, and A&W that continue to thrive in Canada long after their death (or near death) in the US.
I don’t really shed a tear for TRU, but I do feel bad for the struggling small toy retailers, especially the few remaining small family-owned shops. There was a great little family-run one just a few blocks away from my house that didn’t survive the extended pandemic closure. A real shame, it was a fixture in the community that hosted live folk music nights and other events. We always tried to do birthday shopping there even though online sales would have been cheaper. Browsing a website just isn’t the same as taking a kid into a real toy store, especially one where the owner knows the kid by name.
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For years I’ve used that scene from Goodfellas as a quick way to explain “the private equity business” to the uninitiated.
Thank you for sharing it 
Oh, and I almost forgot… DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN BALL
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After the beast dies, the private equity parasite will leave its host and slither toward the next. After creditors take what slim pickings they can, another parasite will soon find the corpse. But without a living body to inhabit, all that it can do is [remove the beast’s hide and wear it like a coat], in the hope that prey will wander by and be fooled by the disguise.
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DQ seems ok here in the US. I still see them semi-regularly (though not as often as the 80’s in the midwest).
A&W’s have def. taken a dive since their late 70’s/early 80’s heyday. Most pf the ones here are those mutant combo restaurants, an A&W combined with a KFC, or Pizza Hut + Taco Bell.
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Babies R Us sucked rocks. I hated that store with a passion and was not sorry to see it go.
After a couple bad experiences, my wife and I vowed to never go back and actively sought out independently run baby/toddler stores. Got better advice, service and don’t think we paid a premium either.
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This. My wife pointed out the same thing as we watched them die. They’d stopped doing what they were branded to do - sell Toys - and had gone into baby clothing and other stuff, which people would get elsewhere. The private equity douche bros never understood that, nor did they care, they just wanted to break it down and parts it out.
Best way for them to come back is to not only sell the toys everyone else has, but to get exclusive toys that no one else does to draw people into the store. Be a toy store, not another department store.
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What makes you put Dairy Queen in that list? We visit our local DQ regularly for Blizzards, so I was unaware if they struggled. (Though I must admit we completely ignore the Orange Julius part of the menu.)
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I’ve just assumed stores like Babies’R’Us, or Bed, Bath, and Beyond, even Macy’s, only continue to exist for the sake of wedding and baby shower registries so your great aunt who doesn’t shop online can still get you something the way she’s used to doing.
They still exist in a few regions, but there are large swaths of the US without one. I lived all over California for 25 years and travelled all over the southwest and never saw one. Definitely a pale shadow of the national chain they once were. However they are everywhere in Canada. The town of 5000 people near my parents has four of them. There’s seemingly one on every block. Like Starbucks, but way more delicious.
Weirdly, every time I bring up this contrast on BBS, an American argues the point. I haven’t figured out why yet.
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See above (and I really need to stop bringing this up). They used to be a big national chain and are now a spotty regional one. They are still a huge national chain in Canada. They are not in combo stores with Orange Julius, either. They are still standalone restaurants everywhere and doing very well. They just built a new one near me.
I hypothesize that Americans are blind to this contrast because they have never been to Canada, for the most part.
See above for more context and I’m going to stop talking about this now because it’s getting off topic. 
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Funnily enough, I lived in Vancouver BC for a couple years. I DID notice DQ had a pretty significant presence.
The peanut buster parfaits were worse than I remember, largely, I suspect, due to Canadian dairy policy.
Your butter is just not as good, and anything but ‘premium’ ice cream tasted like plastic.
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That’s an odd statement. Having lived half my life in both countries, I can’t agree with you there. Are you sure aren’t confusing ice cream and ice milk?
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I still think there’s a huge need for a “big box” baby store. Car seats, strollers, diaper bags, and other large items are hard to get sight unseen if you are particular (have a small car or are looking for fitting multiple car seats or use for flying with one). They weren’t particularly close by, but I often drove to them for these things to get more of a specific brand of bottle or something because your kid hit a new stage and you need locks on your cabinet.
Target, boutique baby stores, or online shopping can cover the basics like baby food and diapers. For the larger purchases you’re only buying one of its really nice to see them in person. Having a wide selection means you can get parts for the brand of bottle or pump you use. Boutique baby stores seemed to focus on stuff that can be marked up; like higher end clothes and hand made toys.
At least around me Babies’R’Us seemed to be doing really well while the attached Toys’R’Us seemed to struggle.
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I kinda like ice milk products. The texture is different with sort of an ice crystal texture, and it isn’t as “rich”.
If you’re being serious in your question, it has very low butter fat compared to ice cream and isn’t “creamy”. Some of the treats at Dairy Queen like the Dilly Bar I think are ice milk. A lot of home made ice cream is actually ice milk. I remember making some by rolling a coffee in another can can back and forth with ice and salt in it. Took too long for an impatient kid, but it is a unique texture!
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All of it is. It’s their thing- it’s what set them apart initially and what they became known for. I’m rapidly learning how little Americans seem to know about Dairy Queen in this thread. 
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