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As Willy Wonka might have said at some point throughout the course of his fictitious life, "A town without an exceptional toy store is a town that has yet to be exceptional."
Ain't that the truth, Willy me' boy.
And such seems to be the case here in Los Angeles where few entrepreneurs believe that there is a difference between "a toy store" and "a good toy store" which has been illustrated by the following examples of lackluster toydom:
Toys 'R Us (La Cieniga Blvd., Los Angeles): Shoved into a shopping center that once was, this Toys 'R Us lacks helpful staff (if you can find any, of course), an unorganized and shoddily arranged toy selection and a "I couldn't care less" attitude about re-stocking the toys you really want while giving you all the dust you'd rather not inhale. Sure, it's a Toys 'R Us, but name alone doesn't mean a thing when you cringe just as you walk in the door.
Puzzle Zoo (3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica): A decent store if you're looking for action figures or Simpson's Tiffany-Crystal Chess sets, but when it comes to finding the classic toys you've been looking for (board games, electronic games and/or dolls) you're not going to find it here.
KayBee Toys (Riverside Blvd., Sherman Oaks): Cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap. This goes for all KayBee Toy stores and this one isn't any different. A store where the toys are as cheap looking as their prices. Staff who could care less, who know nothing about what you're looking for, and well, would rather be drinking a forty. (This goes for every KayBee you see in your local Mall.)
FAO Schwartz (The Grove, Los Angeles): CLOSED. Because the behemoth building and the accompanying behemoth prices just weren't doing it for anyone.
Can't we find some good stores out there? Real stores with a huge selection of toys? Clean, organized and intelligent staff? Puh-leeze people.
Give LAist the goods.
