It’s back: Toys R Us reopens its first store in New Jersey

PARAMUS, N.J. - Just in time for the holiday season, Toys R Us is making a comeback in the form of a new store that opened Wednesday in New Jersey.

After Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy and shut down all of its U.S. locations in 2018, the iconic toy store chain was revived under its new parent company Tru Kids.

The new retail store is located at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, about 20 miles northeast of Newark.

Store employees are pictured at the Toys R Us store opening at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey on Nov. 27, 2019. (Photo credit: FOX 5 NY)

Tru Kids partnered with b8ta, a software-powered experiential retailer, in a joint venture to launch a “new store experience.” The new Toys R Us store will be a smaller space but “highly interactive with new events and activities every day,” according to the company.

“As a kid, my memory of Toys ‘R’ Us was running up and down the aisles kicking balls and playing with the coolest toys,” said Phillip Raub, co-founder and president of b8ta and Interim co-CEO of the Toys ‘R’ Us joint venture. “As the retail landscape changes, so do consumer shopping habits. But what hasn’t changed is that kids want to touch everything and simply play.”

The New Jersey location is one of two stores the company plans to open this season in the U.S., including another at The Galleria in Houston, Texas, according to Tru Kids.

The inside of the new Toys R Us store at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey is shown on Nov. 27, 2019. (Photo credit: FOX 5 NY)

Richard Barry, now CEO of Tru Kids and a former Toys R Us executive, along with other former executives, founded Tru Kids earlier this year and are now managing the Toys R Us, Babies R Us and Geoffrey brands.

Tru Kids also partnered with Target to restart its online business ahead of the holiday shopping season. Toysrus.com, which launched in October, features product reviews and videos and directs browsers to a buy button at Target.com to complete the purchase.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.