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Side by Side on Chapel
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Business New Haven
8/20/2001
By: BNH
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NEW HAVEN - The Toy Store on Chapel recently opened at 1207 Chapel, between Park and Howe streets. It's owned by Richard and Suzanne Stack, who are clear about their goals and the role of toys in the lives of children.
“Toys are necessary equipment for children to explore the world and recreate it for themselves,” says Richard Stack. The store shuns the obvious. You won't find Disney or Barney, but you will find toys that stimulate the youthful imagination.
“We carry toys for children rather than marketing for television shows and movies,” Richard Stack says. Unusual costumes with headpieces made in Canada are showstoppers. One toy that challenges the young mind is the “Village of Towers,” a set of boxes and shapes that are painted primary colors. The shop's best sellers are cloth dolls called Groovy Girls. The window causes every passing adult to stop and look. A Robinson-Crusoe-style treehouse, giant lion and Frank Lloyd Wright building-blocks are similarly irresistible.
The Stacks offer several special programs to help get the word out to the community that there's a new store on Chapel. A non-profit rebate, birthday register discount and word-of-month discount are three marketing tools the shop is hoping will help launch them in the New Haven market. They have devised “toy-store chess,” a board game printed on heavy paper. They plan to introduce Yale students to the shop through mass distribution of this version of chess. The shop is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except Monday.
Located next door, at 1209 Chapel, is London Ltd., formerly located at Whitney and Trumbull. Says manager Stephanie Hug: “We made the move because there is more foot traffic in this area and a parking lot in the rear. People think of Chapel Street as the place to shop, so we're excited about the move.”
London Ltd. carries gifts for all occasions, including pottery, soaps, candles, glassware, jewelry and small apartment-sized furniture such as tables. Candy is a specialty of the house. Hug also makes quilts to order. The shop is open daily except Sunday. “We haven't established exact hours yet,” said Hug. “We need to be open for a while and see what happens.”
The addition of two new stores side by side in the same block is bringing new life to the 1200 block of Chapel Street.
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