After filing for bankruptcy in September 2017, 69-year-old toy giant, Toys ‘R’ Us, is officially closing all of its U.S. stores, including Babies ‘R’ Us. According to Business Insider, “The longer the stores stay open, the more rent Toys ‘R’ Us will owe to its landlords”, only needing a few weeks to heavily advertise liquidation sales before starting them.

Toys ‘R’ Us is just the latest store to file for bankruptcy. Wet Seal, Claire’s, RadioShack, Gordmans, and Payless are some of the stores that have filed in the past year. It makes me sad that a store that has brought many children, myself included, so much joy, is closing. We all knew that it was bound to happen someday, especially with Amazon being a big part of the reason why the iconic store is closing.

With the closing coming soon and around 33,000 people out of jobs, the former toy store, KB Toys, plans to come back better than ever and wants to hire former Toys ‘R’ Us employees. They hope to open some stores by Christmas this year. I vaguely remember KB Toys being at East Towne when I was little. I love the idea that a huge toy store that went out of business almost a decade ago is coming back and even helping employees of another toy store that is closing soon.

Although it will most likely be a couple more months until its gone, it’s always sad to see one of your favorite stores going out of business. Even if it’s a store you haven’t gone to in a while.

To be honest, my friend and I went to a Toys ‘R’ Us a couple years ago just to go through the aisles and see what was being sold, bringing back memories of getting Bratz dolls and Hotwheels for my birthday and Christmas. It’s not just another toy store. It’s a staple in many people’s childhoods. But it’s time to say goodbye to everyone’s favorite toy store.